Interview of Thibaut Robet and Maxime Bertin on BFM TV
Transcript of the interview:
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Hello! Welcome to “Décryptage”, the program where we give experts in their field the floor. Today, we’re going to talk about factoring. Factoring is a source of financing that is sometimes perceived as a last-resort solution. However, as we will see, it is actually a way of financing business growth. We’ll discuss this with Thibaut Robet. Hello.
Thibaut Robet: Hello.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: You are the founder and CEO of Fibus, a consulting, brokerage and digital solutions company in factoring and credit insurance. We’ll explain all of that. You are here with Maxime Bertin. Hello Maxime. You are Head of the factoring business at Fibus. We’ll start with you to briefly explain the principle of factoring and, above all, clarify the financial leverage it can represent.
Maxime Bertin: Factoring is a short-term financing technique that allows B2B companies to finance their accounts receivable. A company grants payment terms to its client, usually 60 days, and factoring allows it to receive immediate payment of its invoice through a factor, a factoring company. In terms of funding generated, we estimate that it represents about two months of revenue. For example, a company with €30 million in revenue can expect to obtain around €5 million in financing.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Of course, that’s not insignificant. Thibaut, you say this is a way of financing growth.
Thibaut Robet: Absolutely. In your introduction, you mentioned that factoring is often seen as a solution for companies in difficulty. But in reality, the need for cash and financing comes from growth. Factoring is a solution that accompanies and follows a company’s evolution. With factoring, business leaders do not have to worry about their financial resources.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Yet, among some business owners, factoring still has a negative image. How do you explain that?
Thibaut Robet: I think it’s quite historical.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Why? Because they see it as a solution for struggling companies?
Thibaut Robet: Yes, because it is a solution accessible to companies in difficulty. But if we look back historically, in the 1980s, when factoring was implemented, it had to be disclosed. Clients had to be notified. Then, in the late 1990s, factoring became confidential. And many companies started using it as a management tool.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Is factoring linked to economic cycles? I’m asking both of you. Is there more factoring in times of crisis? Or the opposite?
Thibaut Robet: It’s exactly the opposite. There is much more factoring during growth periods.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: So that completely disproves the common misconception about factoring.
Thibaut Robet: Absolutely, it’s a false idea.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Maxime, how is France positioned in this market? In financial products, France is often considered behind Anglo-Saxon countries. Is that the same for factoring?
Maxime Bertin: No, it’s the opposite. French factoring companies are among the largest in Europe. The French market is the largest factoring market in Europe, with €422 billion in receivables purchased last year. And we are fortunate to work with French factoring companies that can operate across Europe and even beyond, in North America and Asia.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Does that mean French companies make extensive use of factoring? Do we have figures on that? Do we know how many mid-sized companies are eligible?
Thibaut Robet: We estimate that one out of two B2B mid-sized companies uses factoring, which is significant. There are 33,000 companies using factoring in France and between 5,000 and 6,000 mid-sized companies.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: So there is huge potential in the French market. Is factoring also comfortable for banks?
Thibaut Robet: Yes, because it allows banks to secure their financing. And it enables them to go further in supporting their clients while taking fewer risks.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Let’s look at this in practice. Maxime, this is your field. Let’s do a kind of tutorial. How does it work in practice? Let’s imagine I am a business owner and I want to set up a factoring solution. What are the steps?
Maxime Bertin: First, you need to come see me.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: At Fibus?
Maxime Bertin: Yes, at Fibus. What we will do first is calculate your financing potential. This confirms whether you are eligible for the solution and whether your receivables can be a source of financing. Once this analysis is done, we help you find the right financial partner, the one best suited to your company’s characteristics. Once the partner is found, we go through a traditional banking credit process. Then, once an agreement is reached, we support you in the operational implementation. It is a financing solution that can be complex and may impact the company’s organisation. We support you throughout the entire project. And once financing starts, we do not disappear. We remain by your side if there are optimisations, renegotiations, or expansions if you have other subsidiaries in your group.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: You mentioned complexity. Does that mean you necessarily need support?
Thibaut Robet: It is better to be supported. Support helps make the project sustainable over time.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: And as Maxime said, you also need to see whether it makes sense for your company.
Thibaut Robet: Yes, that upfront phase is very important because it allows you to quantify the financial contribution of factoring. It is a crucial point. Some activities are eligible for factoring, others are not. There are countries where factoring is easier or harder to implement. And the nature of your customers also determines whether you can use factoring. Within your overall receivables, you must identify the best portion to include in factoring.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Let’s talk a bit about you. You are a French company, but you don’t only work with French clients. You are present in about 40 countries, right?
Thibaut Robet: We are not physically present in 40 countries.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: But your clients are?
Thibaut Robet: Our clients are present in 37 countries. French factoring has been successfully exported. International companies like working with French factoring firms, and French factors like exporting their expertise.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Is being French a signature advantage in this field?
Maxime Bertin: Yes, it is a real advantage in this market.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: At the beginning, I mentioned your digital offering in factoring and credit insurance. How does it differentiate you from competitors? I don’t know who wants to answer.
Thibaut Robet: We help our clients choose their factoring solution and service provider. We help them implement it. And with 18 years of experience, we realised we needed to continuously optimise these factoring contracts. We have put all this know-how into software solutions that we provide to our clients so they can use factoring in the best possible way. This is especially relevant after interest rates rose in 2023. When we implement factoring, we want to use it optimally.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Maxime, what exactly is it? Is it a kind of digital dashboard to manage the project?
Maxime Bertin: Yes, but it is more than that. It is software that connects to the company’s ERP system to collect all invoicing and customer data. It helps the finance department understand what is being assigned through the factoring programme and what could be, as well as potential financing sources still available. It also helps supervise the factoring programme in terms of financing obtained versus costs.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: We haven’t talked about costs for companies yet. Isn’t cost also a factor that may explain the negative perception some business leaders have of factoring? Let me rephrase: is factoring expensive for companies?
Maxime Bertin: No. There is a cost, of course. But factoring remains the most attractive short-term financing source. The cost of factoring is traditionally between 1% and 2.5% above the Euribor index. So it is one of the most competitive short-term financing solutions.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: What determines this cost between 1% and 2.5%? Company size? Financial strength?
Maxime Bertin: Yes, the amount of financing, the company’s financial strength, the number of countries, the currency, etc.
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Thank you both for explaining how factoring works and its benefits for companies. If we summarise, what are the three keywords? Growth, which you can finance through factoring, for mid-sized companies and with an international dimension. Does that sum it up well?
Thibaut Robet: You summed it up perfectly. I have nothing to add. Thank you very much, Stéphane!
Stéphane Pedrazzi: Thank you both for joining us. Thibaut Robet, founder and CEO of Fibus, and Maxime Bertin, Head of Factoring at Fibus. See you soon for new episodes of “Décryptage”.