Berne Union

The Berne Union is the premier international Union or association for the investment insurance and export credit industries. It is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1934 and represents and advocates for the interests of this industry worldwide and facilitates cross-border trade.

It also helps in transforming raw data into insights and factual information. Initially, it can generate reports under certain schedules, metrics, and criteria but later on can be duplicated or customized to fit into the needs of the entire company. It fixes the errors and pain points in manual report generation.

The Berne Union is an international organization that hosts export credit and investment insurers as members. The union collaborates to boost global trade and investment by offering insurance and guarantee solutions to mitigate risks in international transactions. Credit insurance shields exporting companies, financial institutions and investors from losses due to commercial credit and political risks. Thus, it facilitates smooth cross-border trade and investment with wide-reaching benefits.

The Union Members fund projects aligned with strategic priorities such as clean energy, power access, and urban and rural development, spanning both developed and developing markets worldwide. The core mission of this international association is to actively promote cross-border trade by advocating for the adoption of sound principles in export credit and foreign investment.

This mission is realized through facilitating professional exchange, sharing knowledge, networking among its members, and collaborating on projects with stakeholders in international finance. The Union's main activities encompass data and research, meetings, and publications. They serve as crucial tools in advancing its objectives and supporting its members in promoting global economic growth and stability.

The union possesses the most extensive dataset concerning export credit and investment insurance operations. Detailed information regarding risk exposure, claims, premium income, commitments, recoveries, and reinsurance is gathered and categorized by business line, provider, sector, country, and obligor type.

Data submissions from members occur twice annually, encompassing activities up to the end of the second quarter and for the entire year. Members have access to Berne Union data. The most recent publications with aggregated data and analyses about the status of the export credit insurance market are available to non-members.

The Berne Union, established in 1934, serves as a diverse coalition of public and private entities dedicated to facilitating international trade and investment through financing and insurance services. It is named after Berne, Switzerland, since the state and private export credit insurers (from France, the UK, Italy, and Spain) met in Berne for the first time. Its headquarters was in Paris in the 1970s, and it later moved to London. By 2011, its members collectively provided over $1.8 trillion in insurance coverage, marking more than 10% of global trade.

Notably, the Union's influence extends to supporting emerging export credit agencies in eastern and central Europe through the establishment of the Prague Club in 1993. Named after its founding location, the Prague Club assists these agencies in development until they meet the criteria for full Berne Union membership.

The Berne Union organizes various sub-groups dedicated to specific themes and expertise. These include working groups for in-depth exploration of key topics and specialized expert groups for technical exchanges. Additionally, the management committee occasionally establishes task forces led by a member to address projects aligned with the union's strategic objectives for a set period.

The committees within the Berne Union serve as vital structures through which members engage and contribute to the association's activities. They facilitate coordination and information exchange among members, including business data sharing.

The four committees are divided into two that are devoted to the official export credit agencies (ECAs) and emerging credit insurers, as well as two that are focused on the product lines for short-term, medium-term, and long-term insurance. They are:

• Short-Term Committee (ST): Addresses matters concerning short-term export credit insurance.
• Medium/Long Term Committee (MLT): Engages on issues related to medium/long-term export credit, investment insurance, and political risk.
• Export Credit Agency Committee (ECA): Focuses on national export credit support established by official ECAs.
• Prague Club Committee (PC): Discusses particular difficulties encountered by smaller or more recent members of the investment insurance and export credit community.

Given below are the ten guiding principles of the union:

1. Conducting business to support global trade and investment, adhering to applicable laws and international agreements.
2. Carefully managing risks associated with the operations.
3. Advocating for investment insurance and export credit terms aligned with sound business practices.
4. Striving for sustainable revenue generation in line with the risks undertaken.
5. Handling claims and recoveries professionally while respecting the rights of insureds and obligors.
6. Addressing environmental concerns in business practices.
7. Supporting global initiatives against corruption and money laundering.
8. Promoting best practices through information exchange and the development of relevant agreements and standards.
9. Upholding transparency in reporting business activities, respecting international practices and third-party confidentiality.
10. Encouraging collaboration with bilateral, multilateral, commercial, and other organizations involved in export trade and investment.

The Berne Union's membership consists of a varied blend of government-supported official export credit agencies (ECAs), multilateral financial institutions, and private insurers specializing in credit and political risk. Collectively, these members represent the entirety of the global export credit and investment insurance sector. Currently, the Berne Union trade credit insurance association boasts a membership of 84 entities.

Membership in the Berne Union is open to applicants meeting specific criteria to ensure relevance and diversity among members. Berne union countries requirements include active involvement in foreign investment and export credit financing as core activities, a minimum of three years of operation in outward investment insurance or export credit insurance, meeting certain thresholds for business premium income or business value coverage, and offering insurance covering commercial and political risks (in a general and global sense).

Berne Union trade credit insurance applicants initially hold observer status for two years, subject to collective evaluation for full membership. Notably, the United States is represented by federal agencies and private-sector corporations. 

The Berne Union operates under the leadership of a President, Vice President, and Management Committee. These committees oversee specialized committees focused on short-term credit, medium—and long-term credit, and investment insurance. Additionally, a Secretariat based in London facilitates coordination, communication, and professional exchange among members.

Annual general meetings, seminars, workshops, and an intranet platform facilitate discussions on international trade, industry trends, and finance, promote best practices, and address emerging challenges. The Union also maintains partnerships with leading international financial institutions, regional development banks, and other credit insurance associations to promote global financial stability and economic growth.

Members of the Berne Union countries encompass a broad spectrum of economies, spanning from highly developed nations to emerging markets, and hail from diverse geographical regions. They hold various viewpoints regarding approaches to export credit financing and investment insurance.