SOURCES OF

FOREIGN
INFORMATION
Customer-supplied Information
■ Most credit professional begin with customer-supplied information starting with credit
application through direct contact with the principle.
“The Creditor that builds rapport and invest time in the business relationship is often the
who get’s paid first.”
“ The old adage “out of sight-out of mind” can be fitting in creditor/customer
relationship. Frequent communication helps to keep the creditor and the invoices front and
center.
Third Party information

■ can be defined as information collected from sources outside of an

individual or a business.
■ These repositories compile exhaustive amount of information about
companies of all sizes, although they tend to have more information on
larger business.
5 top companies for commercial credit
information
■ Cortera
- Cortera describes itself this way: “Cortera is the online source for
commercial credit information and financial intelligence on over 20 million
businesses of every size.
■ Dun & Bradstreet
- D&B touts a long-standing reputation for enabling companies to “Decide
with Confidence® for 170 years”, delivering results that people can trust.
Their “global commercial database contains more than 200 million business
records” making D&B “the most comprehensive global database of its
kind.”
■ Experian is a global provider of insight into individuals and
organizations that offers credit services. Like the other companies
listed, Experian has an extensive database of information that serves
as a tool for managing credit risks.
■ A.K.A. Info group provides credit rating scores, types of business,
ownership, nearby competitors and more. Like the others, any size or
type of business can be found in their exhaustive database – even the
small Mom & Pop shops found nationwide.
■ LexisNexis touts itself as, “… a leading global provider of content-
enabled workflow solutions designed market specifically for
professionals in legal/risk management, corporate government, law
informent, accounting, and academic markets.
Industry credit group
■ An Industry credit group is a group of credit managers from
various companies that share information about their mutual
customers.
■ Credit group members operate strictly within the bounds of
antitrust and in full compliance with the laws, both federal and
state.
Direct credit investigations
Trade References
- When contacting a trade reference the basic information that you should obtain includes
length of relationship, date of last sale, balance range, any current delinquency and
payment of history.
BANKS
- Bank references are a valuable and important part of information gathering process.
- Banks guard information and are cautious about the release of any financial information
about businesses and individuals.
- All banks are accustomed to being contacted by creditors for financial Information
■ Specific pieces of Information:
Who-what-why of the Inquiry: Who are you?, What do you want to know
And why do you want to know it?
■ A creditor can approach a bank in a few different ways:
Present written authorization
Make a direct inquiry
Bank to bank inquire

- Internet
- General Information, industry trends or news events that may influence an industry’s
health are easily found on Internet.
■ Useful resources for credit professional:
Dun&Badstreet: www.dnb.com/us
Experian: www.experian.com
National Association of Credit Management (NACM): www.nacm.org
Risk Management Association: www.rmahq.org.
Lexis-Nexis: www. Lexisnexis.com/en-us/home.page
Skyminder: www.skyminder.com
Customer Website
- About Us” pages may offer the history of a company including information about the principals.
-And again, while told in favor of the company, it still may yield information a creditor will find
useful. For instance, companies that provide a product line may also be unveiling further trade
references to the astute creditor manager.
Public Records
-State and County Government offices store a wealth of information relevant to a creditor’s
research on a customer. Each state has a Secretary of State website where anyone can learn the
type of business of a potential customer, the date of incorporation, names of officers and contact
information.
Export Credit Sales Insurance

■ Export credit insurance (ECI) protects an exporter of products and services against the
risk of non-payment by a foreign buyers.
■ ECI generally covers commercial risks (such as insolvency of the buyer, bankruptcy, or
protracted defaults/slow payment) and certain political risks (such as war, terrorism,
riots, and revolution) that could result in non-payment. 
■ ECI also covers currency inconvertibility, expropriation, and changes in import or
export regulations. 
Characteristics of Export Credit
Insurance
■ Applicability 
Recommended for use in conjunction with open account terms and pre-export working
capital financing. 
■ Risk 
Exporters assume the risk of the uncovered portion of the loss and their claims may be
denied in case of non-compliance with requirements specified in the policy. 
■ Pros 
Reduces the risk of non-payment by foreign buyers offers open account terms safely in
the global market.
Coverage

■ Short-term ECI, which provides 90 to 95 percent coverage against

commercial and political risks that result in buyer payment defaults,
typically covers,
(a) consumer goods, materials, and services up to 180 days, and;
(b) small capital goods, consumer durables, and bulk commodities up to 360
days. 
■ Medium-term ECI, which provides 85 percent coverage of the net
contract value, usually covers large capital equipment up to five years. 
■ References:
■ C2C Resources, How to
■ https://www.trade.gov/export-credit-insurance#:~: