Daniel Boccara trained as a mathematician, earning a graduate degree at the University of Paris. But he did not figure he would eventually be helping U.S. exporters calculate the credit risks of their overseas customers.

The links that led him to the U.S. trade world are not that hard to find: COFACE North America, which he heads, delivers company ratings, buyer risk assessments, and insurance coverage at lightning speed, all made possible by the mathematical systems and databases the Paris-based credit services conglomerate has pioneered over the past ten years.

What's more, COFACE, which boasts the biggest global network in credit insurance and credit reporting, just capped its international expansion with the purchase of CNA Credit Insurance, a 100-year-old New Jersey-based underwriter with which it has pursued a strategic relationship for five years.

"The CNA acquisition rounds out our presence in the U.S. market, it's a major step," says Boccara, who has charted the North American strategy since 2000, after three years managing Veritas Group, its Connecticut-based credit reporting unit, which also includes JI International. COFACE acquired the two information specialists over the past decade, and has integrated them into its global credit reporting and risk assessment services.

"This is an exciting time for us," he opines. The U.S. market for trade credit cover has been expanding steadily, but has a long way to go. "In Europe, credit insurance is used in 15-20 percent of exports, but here it's more like 3 percent. So, clearly, there's a major opportunity." And CNA will distribute all of the company's products, not just insurance.

Boccara ran business development for Knight Ridder Financial Wire in Paris (handling France and Switzerland) before moving to the U.S. He finds U.S. credit managers are beginning to view their departments in a new light. "They're no longer content to be a cost center, the newer generation sees credit management as a support tool for the sales force, so it becomes a profit center."

The crown jewel of COFACE since its introduction three years ago is its @rating program, an Internet-based global data facility that assesses the creditworthiness of firms either through a paid service (a company can request a rating) or as part of the ongoing expansion and update of the database. It now contains over 35 million companies, and serves to process information, providing credit ratings and analysis, and using this scoring of buyer risk to set credit limits and apply insurance.

The @rating service grew out of COFACE's in-house automated underwriting system, which has given it the ability to make hundreds of credit decisions daily on a computer-driven basis (underwriters also make many decisions in the traditional hands-on way). It spun out the capability for use by others, thereby creating a new business.

Clients now use @rating to manage their export receivables on customers in about 100 countries, and they have the option of adding insurance protection on a transaction basis.

Plus, larger companies increasingly want to securitize their receivables, get them off their balance sheets, and improve their use of capital. This is where COFACE's "Quality Label" paid rating comes in. "Our rating offers market recognition, and that permits a company to offer an assessment of its portfolio that encourages institutions to buy it as a securitized package, with insurance cover" says Boccara.

It makes it easier to obtain credit, where necessary, and build relationships with both suppliers and lenders. Boccara spends much of his time on the road, networking with exporters and bankers. "The U.S. has an amazing appetite for swapping ideas, and the convergence of information, scoring, and insurance has really taken hold."