Definitions of Coface services categories

Identification: Subject legal name, trade name(s), legal (headquarters) address, telephone and fax numbers. The Coface Rating is also found in this section.

Executive Summary: Key points about the company, for quick referral.

Answers To Client Questions: Coface allows its customers to ask specific questions that may not otherwise appear in a credit report. Coface will address these questions upon conducting the interview with a subject and provide the answers in this section of the report. An example of a specific question is the request for a credit opinion on a given sum of money.

Imperatives: Important events occurring within the past year which have an impact on the company’s credit worthiness. Also used to outline steps taken to find a company that is either offshore, out of business, or not at the address provided.

Legal: This section gives business type and legal standing of a company, address of the corporate headquarters, any file or corporation numbers, capital stock if available, and the names of officers and shareholders.

Related Companies: Related Entities lists companies which have a legal relationship to the subject. This includes Parent Companies, Subsidiaries and Sister Companies.

History: This section can provide background information on the Company or its officers. If a company has been in business for a number of years, you will see important events which have occurred since its this section is shown in graph format and provides the average number of days past due a firm has paid over the noted period. For Canadian companies, the numbers reflect a formula which is reflective of a company’s prior payment record.

Trade References: This section (where applicable) supplies at least 2 supplier names and the history each of these suppliers has with the Subject. Included in this section is how long a supplier has been trading with a subject, inception.

Technical: This section describes the size and function of the company’s main office, or any other offices it may utilize. It also gives number of employees and any independent sales representatives a company may have.

Financial: The company’s income statement and balance sheet, if available, are presented in this section along with financial ratios and a comparative analysis by industry. Since companies in North and South America are not required to release financial information, this section will also provide an explanation of the company’s refusal to provide this information.

Industry Analysis: This is a comparison of a subject company’s annual volume with that of other firms involved in the same industry.

Bank Reference: The bank reference is requested in order to obtain a history of a company’s banking relationship and determine the size of its borrowing facilities. All bank references are updated upon each requested order.

Payment History: This section reflects a company’s historical payment tendencies for a particular period of time, and may also reflect terms granted to the subject from various suppliers. In the United States, credit limits, current outstanding amounts, terms offered, last sale dates and an overall rating. All trade references are updated upon each requested order.