THE ROLE OF SPECIALIZED INSTITUTIONS IN T HE BUSINESS INFORMATION-SYSTEM

The basis of all the successful business activities and lending and bo rrowing is perfect economic information. The structure of the presente d paper comes out of this piece of knowledge. In its introductory part the significance of business information in world economy is shown, t he increase of the rate of internationalization indicating the raise o f credit risk. An effective credit hedging is an important factor of a going economy, the credit hedging inside the economy and also abroad not being let to a mere chance. The given facts stimulated a French in surance company COFACE together with KSV in Vienna to establish the In tercredit Information Holding GmBH. Previous years' political changes and intensification of economic international relations to the new mar ket economies stimulated the establishment of the Intercredit subsidia ry firms in Budapest, Prague, Ljubljana, Warsaw and in Bratislava. All of them are oriented towards providing the interior and exterior busi ness partners - wishing to enter business relations - with full and cl ear business information. At the beginning of the 90s the instruments of economic balancing the foreign trade were cancelled (the instrument s helping the state authorities to absorb international business shock s) which indicated the necessity to look for new instruments to suppor t home exporters in the ways common in market economies. The outcome o f the process was establishment of a specialized institution to suppor t export named EGAP that was settled in Prague and working there from June 1992 with the first branch in Bratislava (July 1992). After the S tate split-up the institution is partitioned and the creation of a com pany for export credit insurance takes place with its activities aimed at the support of the Slovak exporters and at lowering their foreign - export activities risk. A modification of the system is to lead to a more perfect model such as that of Austria (Austrian Control Bank), t hat of France (COFACE), of Germany (Hermes), to give some examples.