Del credere

Under trade credit ( from Italian del credere " of faith" ) is generally understood as the risk of default, and especially in commercial law a special kind of guarantee agreement, which occurs when agents and commission agents. The commission has given to the principals ( and the agent against his principal ) its obligation to direct personal liability for the obligations of the contractor from the contracts entered into by him in the form of financial guarantee for receipt of the receivable.

Legal Issues

In common parlance, is of commercial risk involved if that is meant by the creditor or lender to supporting risk of default. The danger may exist in an insolvency or in an unwillingness to pay the debtor or borrower. Their is at merchants through adjustments / write-downs on receivables adequately taken into account ( § 252 Section 1 No. 4 HGB, § 253, paragraph 1 and 3 of the HGB ). The general collection risk is covered by general provisions of the risk of failure of specific individual receivables is countered by specific valuation allowance. Therefore, it is often spoken in the context of allowances for doubtful receivables from commercial risk.

Commission agents or sales representatives are available to the principal, or a business owner against that other contracting party (debtor ) meets his obligations arising from the concluded business. The accessory del credere liability of commission agent arises only with the express assumption of bad debts or if this is common practice ( § 394 HGB). It is orally effective if it corresponds to the usual commercial practice in the relevant place. When sales representatives in writing doubtful accounts requires, however ( § 86b para 1 HGB), without this it is void for procedural defect.

Collection risk

Already 1771 has defined the term trade credit, the Swedish economist John Hartman Eberhardt. For it was the bad debts from the commission to be taken over the credit risk of the Buyer or its ability to repay its debts on time.

The term commercial risk is also used in conjunction with non-recourse factoring and forfaiting real in order to describe the factor or forfaiter alone bearing the risk of bad debt losses. The legally effective completion of factoring or Forfaitierungsvertrages the factor or the forfaiter assume the credit risk with respect to the claim debtor. When Factor - client or Forfaitist only remains the legal validity, which is however not clearly regulated by law since the law of obligations modernization of January 2002.

In the international trade business includes the collection risk, inter alia, country risks, which may be partially covered by an export credit insurance. The insured event is here if any exporter sum within 6 months after the due date ( " protracted default " ) has been paid. Here, the collection risk of the exporter extends only to its excess.

Trade credit insurance

This collection risk can be covered by insurance, the trade credit insurance is called. It distinguishes depending on the insured risk, the trade credit, capital goods credit, export credit and guarantee insurance. The insured event occurs usually when the debtor is insolvent. The creditor ( creditor) continues to recognize its insured claims, however, carries the risk transfer by the trade credit default risk. The insured portion of the receivables may not be backed by a global or specific allowance from the Vendor to the prevailing opinion.