Doing Business in the Middle East and Northern Africa

Dec 14, 2015

Posted by & filed under Credit, International Business.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is notorious for its instability, yet this should not automatically eliminate the consideration of doing business there. In fact, opportunities for growth exist in these markets, if you and your company go in prepared.

Assessments
Take time to gather and assess available information about the prospective customer(s) and the country and region in which it operates to get an estimate of the level of risk. Information includes financial statements and country-based risk assessments that cover such things as the current political environment, corruption, and terrorism. You may find, on one hand, that a company has a sterling payment record, but government instability (potential for rebellion, civil war), frequent destruction of property/sabotage, or an inability to get money out of the country are too concerning to ignore.… Read the rest

Go Ahead and Work Late: Your Phone Can Manage Your Life

Dec 14, 2015

Posted by & filed under Technology.

By Beth Ziesenis, Your Nerdy Best Friend

At the Western Region & CFDD National Conference in October, author Beth Ziesenis, will share secret tech weapons to increase productivity and organization at the office, but busy credit management professionals can start nerding out now to help manage the day-to-day tasks of home.

This January, Beth, also known as Your Nerdy Best Friend, attended the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and discovered new gadgets that are slowly eliminating the need for us to rush home after work to take care of life’s annoying tasks. Here’s her report on the best home automation tools for busy, tech-savvy people.

***

When you’re busy, you don’t have time to take care of every task.… Read the rest

Points to Consider When Doing Business in Brazil

Dec 14, 2015

Posted by & filed under Bankruptcy, Credit, International Business.

Brazil’s rise as one of the two or three most prolific emerging economies in the world at the beginning of the decade is nothing short of impressive. However, within five years it faltered despite being positioned as host of the World Cup 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. Brazil has always been a bit of a roller coaster: sinking right after a hot run and surprising when the business world seems ready to give up on it for a while.

Still, much potential exists there because of a growing middle class and deep natural resource holdings, among other factors. To wit, a 2015 poll of NACM members identified Brazil as one of the top five places where companies were extending the most credit.… Read the rest

Embrace Technology, But Know it is Not a Cure-All

Dec 14, 2015

Posted by & filed under Credit, Technology.

By Chris Ring, NACM’s Secured Transaction Services

There’s a poignant article written by Vivek Wadhwa in MIT Technology Review titled, “Laws and Ethics Can’t Keep Pace with Technology,” that is well worth reading for anyone in the business-to-business credit industry. The last part of the article read as follows:

“Thomas Jefferson said in 1816, ‘Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times.’ The problem is that the human mind itself can’t keep pace with the advances that computers are enabling.”… Read the rest

Three More C’s: A Trio of Practices to Consider for International Business Dealings

Dec 14, 2015

Posted by & filed under Credit, International Business.

Most credit professionals are well aware of NACM’s vaunted “Five C’s of Credit:” (character, capacity, capital, conditions, and collateral). These guiding tenants have long provided a base-level guide to drive credit professionals toward best practices in their daily business dealings. A group of veteran credit professionals, while attending NACM’s Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management, argued that differences in doing business outside of U.S. borders perhaps necessitates adding three additional C’s to the list for anyone extending credit internationally. They are: country, currency, and culture.

Country
Where a U.S. business exports its goods is a major factor in how smoothly credit and collections transactions can be conducted. Depending on the country in question, credit and collections professionals can run into a myriad of business problems: regime instability and citizen uprisings (the Middle East, Ukraine), sanctions lists that ban certain sales and fine those who don’t comply (Iran, North Korea), high public corruption levels (Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa), laws that are considered highly debtor-friendly (Brazil), to name a few.… Read the rest

E-Signature Act Benefits Business and Consumers FTC Reports, so What Does it Mean to the Credit Professional?

Dec 14, 2015

Posted by & filed under Credit, Electronic Signatures.

By Scott E. Blakeley, Esq. republished from www.blakeleyllp.com

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (The E-Sign Act) went into effect November 2000. The E-Sign Act makes an electronic signature (e-signature) as legally binding as ink-and-paper signatures, and can be used in legal proceedings. An e-signature is generally defined as a form of technology, including fingerprint readers, stylus pads and encrypted Asmart cards@, used to verify a party’s identity so as to certify contracts that are agreed to over the Internet.

The Federal Trade Commission is the federal agency responsible for regulating the E-Sign Act. At the direction of Congress, the FTC has issued a report finding that the E-Sign Act is working for both business and consumers, after receiving input from 32 interested groups, ranging from computer companies and financial institutions to consumer groups and academics.… Read the rest

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S.: A Vital Resource for Community Banks

Dec 14, 2015

Posted by & filed under Credit, International Business.

By David Josephson at Export-Import Bank of the U.S.

Why should a small bank with a focus on its local customers and deposits care about including export finance in their offerings to customers? The answer is quite simple: more and more, their customers who are manufacturers or service providers are going global in order to boost their sales, and the more that a local bank knows about export finance, the more valuable that bank is to its customers.

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im), America’s official export credit agency, exists to support U.S. job growth by equipping businesses with export financing tools in instances when private banks are unable or unwilling to offer support. More than 98 percent of Ex-Im’s transactions last year involved partnering with a private financial institution to support export sales; all told, Ex-Im supported 164,000 American jobs by supplying products like insurance, working capital, and loan guarantees to its customers—90 percent of which were U.S.… Read the rest