Credit scorecards Belgium

The renewed Belgian scorecards

With improved predictability comes reduced risk

Welcome to the dedicated page for the (upcoming) Belgian scorecard changes

Through this page, we want to give you a complete overview of the necessary changes, updates, explanatory content, scorecard guides, upcoming webinars, etc. We want to make sure that you are fully up-to-date with the updated scorecards.

Renewed Belgian Scorecards

As the local and global economies shift, the factors influencing a business failure as well as the factors indicating a company in distress will change. To take account of these changes, the scorecards need to be continuously improved.

Our credit scores have always predicted the likelihood of a company going bankrupt. Our updated scorecards will bring even greater predictability by incorporating new data, further segmentation and algorithm improvements. This means we will be able to predict even more insolvencies, so you will be even more comfortable when 'working on credit' with other Belgian companies.

What are the advantages of the new credit scorecards?

  1. Enhanced predictability

    Our scores measure, with confidence, the probability of a company going bankrupt up to 12 months in advance.

  2. Analysed additional company data

    Thousands of company data sources are combined and evaluated to provide an immediate and transparent credit score for each company.

  3. More business opportunities

    By enhancing the power of the credit scorecard, your business can benefit from being able to access more opportunities without increasing the credit risk.

  4. Assessing companies with limited information or data

    We can assess companies more accurately based on limited information, so you can make confident decisions about whether to do business with them.

A higher accuracy of predictability with enhanced company or business segmentations

No two companies are identical, but many show similar signs of insolvency within the population

To enhance the distinctiveness of the credit scorecard, the population is segmented. 

The goal of segmentation is to define a set of subpopulations that, when modelled individually and combined, will rank the credit risk better than a single model on the total population in each country.

Creditsafe is proud to have the world's largest database of corporate credit information, which is constantly growing as we collect more company data. This has allowed us to classify the populations of many countries into more distinct groups, allowing us to produce more predictive models. 

Increased predictability accuracy with improved business segmentation

What are the factors that affect a company's credit rating?

From over 8.000 data sources worldwide, we carefully identify the factors that have a strong correlation with business bankruptcies.

From small local companies to large multinationals, the factors that influence or indicate a company's eventual bankruptcy vary by company size and industry. To increase the predictability and stability of our credit score, Creditsafe segments all companies within a population based on available information, size and type of company (as mentioned above). 

Within each credit scorecard, the importance that each factor has on the credit score will vary according to the statistical relevance it shows in relation to a business failure within a 12 month period. Below we show some of the elements used to calculate the credit score for the new scorecard.

  1. Official Publications

  2. Address changes

  3. Director changes

  4. Industries

  5. Payment data experiences

  6. Filed annual accounts

  7. Linked companies

  8. Company size

  9. Company types

An overview of available content and upcoming announcements

Documents

Webinars

FAQ

Other Announcements

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General Belgian Scorecard Guide

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Executive Summary

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Why are Creditsafe changing its scorecards?

It is perfectly normal for Credit Reference Agencies to update and change their scorecards every now and again. As new information becomes available, we must seize the opportunity to utilise this data and improve predictability further.

We must also be vigilant in tracking marketplace trends and make sure that our predictive models are reflective of current developments. With constant changes to economic, social and political climates, some of the indicators that are predictive of failure today are likely to change in the years to come.

Creditsafe continually enhances our scorecards to reflect the current risk factors that have emerged within the local economies. Assessing the entire business population, we have refined and confirmed what indicators commonly hold for commercial stability, and what is predictive of a company heading into hardship

How do I know if the new scorecard is suitable for my business?

The Creditsafe scorecards are built to assess the entire business population of the country in question, utilising Creditsafe owned data as well as third party data.

Our assessment of this data produces a score which reflects the likelihood of business failure within the next 12 months. In addition, the Limit Solution is designed to offer a recommended maximum amount of credit to be extended to this business based on numerous financial factors. 

Our scorecards are built to compliment any business, however, we do also offer bespoke analytical services. Naturally, all businesses have unique business models, strategies and objectives. In order to help businesses gain greater clarity over their commercial landscape and opportunities, our world-leading analytical team have been commissioned to build a number of bespoke analytical models for companies in many countries.

For further details on our bespoke services please reach out to your dedicated account manager.

Do I need to do any changes in my system when you make the changes?

You will NOT need to make any changes to your Creditsafe account, app or API when the new scorecard is launched. All changes will be implemented automatically.

Are all companies scored with the same algorithm?

No, depending on the type of company, the size and the country, the algorithm is adjusted.

What is the Probability of Default?

The probability of default (= PD; PoD) is a calculation that reflects the likelihood that a debtor will be unable to repay the credit or debt.

This probability or likelihood can be applied to a wide range of risk management and credit analysis scenarios. The Probability of Default depends not only on the characteristics of the debtor, but also on the economic environment. PDs can also be estimated based on historical data and statistical techniques. 

The PD is used in various risk management models to estimate the potential losses of lenders. In general, the higher the probability of default, the higher the interest rate the lender will charge the borrower.

Lenders usually want a higher interest rate to compensate for the higher default risk. Financial metrics - such as cash flow relative to debt, income or operating margin trends, and the use of financial leverage - are common considerations when evaluating risk. A company's ability to execute a business plan and a borrower's willingness to pay are also often included in the analysis.

At Creditsafe, this probability is calculated over a period of the next 12 months and is expressed as a percentage. The lower the percentage, the lower the risk. As such, the probability of default is reflected in the credit scores and ratings, and therefore as well in the updated credit score cards from Creditsafe.

What is a credit score and credit limit and how is it calculated?

Credit Score

The Creditsafe credit score calculates the probability of a company becoming insolvent in the next 12 months.

The company score is calculated using the most advanced statistical algorithms available. More than 150 parameters are taken into account, including economic and industrial factors, as well as historical data

Using a differentiation analysis, we have identified key data variables that are essential in predicting the probability of a company becoming insolvent within the next 12 months.  These variables are then compared to our entire company database and an appropriate risk weighting is assigned to each variable through statistical analysis.  By calculating these key variables, combined with the prevailing variables, we generate a credit score in every credit report for each individual company. 

Credit Limit:

The Creditsafe recommended credit limit is calculated using information from a company's payment record and from the payment records of similar companies. The company credit limit is our recommendation of the total maximum amount of credit that should be outstanding at any one time.

We calculate a company's credit limits by examining its financial position in more detail. By analysing critical credit information fields in combination with the company's credit score, we can more accurately determine a credit limit decision.

These fields include:

- Net worth
- Working capital
- Net cash flow operations
- Accounts receivable & liquidity
- Turnover (if available)

When a company has a positive score and the above financial fields are all of high value, you can usually expect this company to have a good credit limit.

If these values are low (or negative), then the credit limit decision will reflect this. The above financial items are standard for credit assessment conditions.

How are we progressing?

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Documents
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FAQ
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Technical Workflow

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