There can be little doubt that South African companies are having a tough time. The local and global economy is growing at a snail’s pace and the business confidence index fell to a seven-year low in the second quarter of 2016. Obviously more companies are going into liquidation – correct? Not so! According to Stats SA the number of companies being liquidated has been in steady decline since it peaked in 2009. In that year just over 4100 businesses were liquidated, and this number has steadily decreased to just under 2000 in 2015. In the first six months of 2016 only 930 liquidations were recorded and at the current pace […]

Hollard Trade Credit have launched a new selected debtor insurance product which is being supported by the Debtsource credit risk management solution. After extensive investigation into the current trade credit insurance market, Hollard have launched its trade credit insurance offering – and it looks set to be a real winner. Rather than opting for comprehensive cover which is typically available in the market, Hollard decided to take a different approach and to offer clients the opportunity to select which debtors they wish to insure. Hollard is one of the largest insurance companies in Africa and has extensive operations that cover both short-term personal, commercial and life products. It is also […]

The purpose of effective credit management is to achieve the maximum possible outstanding for the shortest possible period of time. This is easier said than done when getting new business is tough, only for credit to refuse the account – and especially frustrating in a depressed economy where growth is hard to achieve. No wonder some sales sceptics refer to the credit team as the “sales prevention department”. This then begs the question: “can you sell to every debtor applying for credit?”. Of course the short answer is “no”. Debtors with judgments; adverse, weak financial position or new established businesses are deemed as very high risk and should best be […]

A number of SA companies are extending credit facilities to Zimbabwean debtors, and some of our local trade credit insurers are covering these risks. Considering recent developments in Zimbabwe it may be time to review these credit opinions, especially in light of the fact that the country is the only place in the world where a currency trades against itself. The price of a US Dollar in Zimbabwe? About $1.07! According to an article published in the Business Day, which was based on a report published by Bloomberg; it would seem that banks and currency dealers have done their best to avoid new exchange control regulations introduced by the Reserve […]