COSEC is the leading insurer in Portugal in the Credit and surety branches, offering the best solutions to support the management and control of credits in the domestic and foreign markets. COSEC is also responsible, on behalf of the Portuguese State, for the coverage and management of credit, surety and investment risks, especially for countries at greater risk .

The shareholder structure of COSEC brings together the solidity of Banco BPI, one of the largest Portuguese financial groups, and the experience of Euler Hermes, the largest credit insurance group in the world.

Officially Supported Export Credit Insurance is an essential tool – to promote and support Portuguese export transactions. –

The State Guarantee products managed by COSEC provide cover and allows exporters to increase their exports, by covering the credit risks associated with transactions, especially to emerging economies and developing countries. Export credit insurance protect exporters against bad debt losses arising from commercial or political reasons and in many cases are a prerequisite for the necessary funding of a transaction to be made available.

• Short-term export credit scheme: for companies exporting for higher risk countries, with payment terms up to 2 years
• Supplier credit cover: for companies that want to cover exports with medium and long payment terms
• Buyer credit cover: designed for banks financing medium and long-term export transactions
• Investment insurance abroad: provides cover for political risk insurance for the Portuguese investors against the main political events of expropriation, war and transfer
• Bond insurance: bonding insurance may apply to any legal or contractual obligation entered by the Portuguese exporter under an export contract

COSEC was founded in December 1969 as a credit insurance company owned by public entities. Following the nationalization period in 1975, COSEC was transformed into a public company and in 1992 was fully privatized. Presently, COSEC is a privately owned company with two shareholders, EULER HERMES (since 2007) and the Portuguese Bank BPI (1996), both with 50% of the capital shares.

COSEC became member of Berne Union in 1977 and since then has played an active role in this international association of credit insurers. COSEC has been part of the Management Committee for several times and in 2016 hosted the General Assembly of the Berne Union, for the first time in Lisbon, with the presence of 82 export credit insurers from all over the world.

In 2019, COSEC celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of conferences and other cultural initiatives, such as a protocol signed with the Ministry of Culture by which the company’s art collection was entrusted to a museum where it can now be enjoyed by the public in general, – and held an international conference dedicated to the activity of State Guarantee Insurance and the celebration of COSEC’s 50 years as an Export Credit Agency (ECA).

COSEC is the leading credit insurer for credit and bond insurance, in Portugal.