Asia-Pacific and Latin America lead global GDP growth

EU and US lag behind in global recovery

Amsterdam, 15 February 2011 - The recovery in global activity has been led by countries in the Asia-Pacific region, with 6.9% growth, and Latin America with 5.7% growth, while Western European and US GDP, at 1.7% and 2.9% respectively, have lagged behind, according to international credit insurance and collections company Atradius. The overall EU figure also masks a wide disparity in the GDP development of member states, ranging from a 3.6% rise in Germany, the UK and France to a dip of 4% in Greece.

Improving real economic activity led to a widespread decrease in insolvencies during 2010, although the speed and timing varied from country to country. The level of insolvency rates remained structurally high, however, as did the general price of credit risk.

The pace of the economic recovery is expected to slow in 2011 compared to 2010, but the likely scenario - that of a protracted recovery - implies that there will be further improvements in the insolvency environment in 2011. Despite these projected improvements, a prolonged period of relatively weak corporate credit conditions is expected.

While the opinion is that the downward phase of the cycle is now behind us, there is still uncertainty surrounding the sustainability of the recent pick-up. Emerging fiscal constraints coupled with sluggish credit conditions translate into a high degree of forecast uncertainty for 2011. Large and growing imbalances within the Eurozone became the major theme of 2010, and the fallout from recent sovereign debt pressures in Greece and Ireland underscores the risk of rapid contagion.

Consequently, GDP growth rates in 2011 are expected to be slower than 2010 and below their historical averages.

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About Atradius

The Atradius Group provides trade credit insurance, surety and collections services worldwide, and has a presence through 160 offices in 42 countries. Atradius has access to credit information on 52 million companies worldwide and makes more than 22,000 trade credit limit decisions daily. Its products and services aim to reduce its customers’ exposure to buyers who fail to pay for the products and services they buy. With total income of more than EUR 1.7 billion and a 31% share of the global trade credit insurance market, its products help protect companies throughout the world from payment risks associated with selling products and services on credit.

For further information:

Atradius Corporate Communications
Denise Hung
Phone: +61 2 9201 2389
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