Export Credits Guarantee Department (Hansard, 5 February 1991)

§ Mr. Cousins
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for the financial year 1989–90 in respect of the Export Credits Guarantee Department (i) the cumulative deficit for the year and the size of the change since 31 March 1989, (ii) the level and increase of premium income, (iii) the size and increase of the provision for claims, (iv) the turnover of exports guarantee by the ECGD, and (v) the premium income and trade results for insurance services and the project group for 1989–90, in a manner comparable with note 2 of the ECGD financial statement for 1988–89 (HC 153).

§ Mr. Sainsbury
The information is included in ECGD's Trading Accounts for 1989–90. These were laid in Parliament on 31 January and a copy has been placed in the Library.

§ Dr. Hampson
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria he will use to calculate the selling price of the business of the Insurance Services Group of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

§ Mr. Sainsbury
[holding answer 4 February 1991]: The criteria for evaluating the bids will be price, commitment, understanding and strong financial resources.

§ Dr. Hampson
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to what policy EC member states intend to pursue on privatisation of their state export insurance services in the run-up to 1992; and if he will publish it.

§ Mr. Sainsbury
[holding answer 4 February 1991]: The existing status of European Community export credit 77W agencies and the manner in which they administer short-term export credit insurance differ. Thus the changes necessary to bring their operations into line with the needs of the single European market will also vary.
A number of short-term export credit schemes are already operated primarily by companies in the private sector, but with some degree of government reinsurance, for example, in Germany (Hermes), Netherlands (NCM), Italy (SIAC) and Ireland (Insurance Corporation of Ireland). In Denmark, the agency (EKR) is an arm of central government but it is understood that there are plans for privatisation.
France (Coface) is now placing most of its short-term reinsurance in the private sector and Portugal (COSEC) is a public limited liability company where those shares not held by the private sector will be sold later this year. In Spain CESCE is a joint stock company with over 40 per cent. of its shares not held by the Government.
There is increasing acceptance by appropriate authorities within the EC that action is necessary further to reduce state involvement in the short-term export credit insurance sector where business operations overlap with those of private sector credit insurers, but not all member states have yet finalised arrangements to put this into effect.