Coface has stepped up action to cut its exposure to riskier buyers as corporate defaults remain at record levels and large claims return, the French trade credit insurer said.
Net income (group share) for the first nine months of 2026 fell 11.8% to €155.5 million, including €47.7 million in the third quarter. Annualised return on average tangible equity was 10.7%, down 0.7 points.
“As Coface expects corporate defaults to continue their upward trend, we have once again significantly stepped up the number of prevention measures, while remaining committed to our clients,” said chief executive Xavier Durand.
Coface said the number of claims was almost stable, down 0.9%, but the amount provisioned rose 10.8% as large claims returned in the third quarter. Durand said corporate defaults remained at a record high, resulting in larger claims for credit insurers.
Even so, Coface’s loss ratio after reinsurance improved by 1.9 points to 37.7%, helped by reserve releases that remain stable at a high level. Its combined ratio after reinsurance rose 0.5 points to 72.4%, as a 2.4-point rise in the cost ratio to 34.7%, reflecting continued investment, outweighed the better loss ratio.
Revenue rose ...