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Losses can be large, sudden and unexpected

Recently, OW Bunker, one of the world’s largest bunker suppliers, said it filed for bankruptcy, less than two days after it announced at least $275 million in losses stemming from fraud at Singapore subsidiary Dynamic Oil Trading and mark-to-market losses.

The Danish company, which claims 7% of global bunker market share, said in-court restructuring procedures had not presented a “sustainable solution” that left it with no alternative to bankruptcy.

The company was just publicly listed in Copenhagen in March this year and has since halted trading and been removed from the stock exchange listing.

It is believed that credit insurers will be paying high levels of claims.

Eastern Europe: A challenging business environment!

In 2014, Eastern Europe is forecast to see a slight deterioration in economic growth prospects, compared to last year.

Credit insurers have seen a rise in insolvencies in Central Eastern Europe (+6%) whereas the insolvency level remains relatively moderate in other countries (e.g. 0.05% in Poland, 0.09% in Slovakia etc…). Read more