The invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022 triggered one of the most important wars in Europe since the Second World War. This armed conflict and the numerous economic sanctions taken against Russia have created serious economic, financial and inflationary consequences for the whole world.
A deterioration of the macro-economic environment
For the countries directly concerned by the conflict, the risk situation also changed significantly with a deterioration of the macro-economic environment and exacerbated commercial risks.
In this context, in 2022, Coface adjusted its assessments of Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian risks and reduced its exposure to these countries. This was done in close cooperation with the clients with whom Coface was in constant dialogue. Coface put in place a dedicated task force in order to communicate with all its stakeholders on a daily basis, in the first instance its clients.
Coface’s reaction
For what concerns Russia specifically, the following actions were implemented:
- Coface scrupulously followed all the sanctions taken against Russia, by cancelling the exposures on sanctioned companies and entities controlled by the sanctioned persons. No further risk was underwritten in sanctioned sectors or on sanctioned entities.
- The Group significantly reduced its activities in the country: the Group's exposure on Russia Now represents less than 0.1% of Coface total exposure.
- Coface maintains an exposure on a limited number of sectors that are not under sanctions and meet basic needs of the local populations such as pharmaceuticals, or agro-food.
- Coface no longer concludes new business in the country.
- Coface maintains a limited local presence in order to meet its commitments to its clients in strict compliance with international sanctions. The Group has notably maintained its debt collection capabilities.
Coface continues to monitor closely the situation on a daily and will continue to act in full co-operation and transparency with its clients and all relevant stakeholders.