BPL Global, the leading credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) broker, has created a team dedicated to excess of loss (XOL) trade credit insurance with a specific focus on the trade finance sector.

XOL traditionally supports strong credit management within large multinational corporates. Recent product and technological developments, coupled with new underwriter entrants, now mean that XOL insurers can provide up to 100% cover for financial institutions purchasing pools of receivables, also enabling them to achieve regulatory capital relief under Basel III.

The team, comprising four experienced brokers, will be headed up by Jonny Carruthers, who has over 13 years of experience broking in the credit insurance industry.

James Esdaile, Managing Director of BPL Global, comments: “We are seeing increased demand from our banking and corporate clients for portfolio credit insurance, which is something that has been successfully used over many years by some of the major commodity traders. Having a specialist and focused team will allow us to broaden use of the product within the market, tailoring the XOL structure to bolster our individual clients’ credit risk management, while developing the programme to deliver further efficiencies to enhance portfolio growth for both new and existing clients.”

Carruthers adds: “We see this as a strong alternative for banks to relying on their clients’ own insurance and a less secure loss-payee position. By having their own insurance policy, banks can obtain regulatory capital relief, eliminate operational risks and improve their advance rate.”

The creation of the team represents the latest milestone for the broker as it celebrates its 35th year in the CPRI industry.