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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Almost 1,300 U.S. businesses, lenders, brokers, Obama Administration officials, and foreign buyers are attending the Annual Conference of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). Ex-Im Bank's 36th Annual Conference, Government at the Speed of Business, is being held in Washington, D.C., on March 31-April 1 at the Omni Shoreham hotel.

Conference attendees will have the chance to meet women and men whose companies-large and small-are competing, and winning, in the global marketplace, said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. These companies are showing us every day how to win the future by doing business overseas where 95 percent of the world's consumers are located.

This conference is about building an export-focused 21st century American economy driven by innovation, inspired by American entrepreneurship, and supported by the competitive financing offered by Ex-Im Bank. We are committed to being even faster, more nimble and better-equipped to meet the needs of U.S. companies and workers.

Hochberg is a member of the President's Export Council, which works with the government agencies that are essential to achieving President Obama's goal of doubling exports by 2015.

Conference participants include the CEOs of Honeywell International, Inc., Siemens AG and Caterpillar Inc., five ambassadors, and successful small business exporters. Also speaking will be James McNerney, Jr., president and CEO of Boeing and head of the President's Export Council; Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup; and Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University. Please see the complete agenda.

Panel and speaker topics include: small business exports; opportunities and challenges of going global; key markets including sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil and Colombia; and important export sectors such as renewable energy and health care. Chairman Hochberg will announce a new financing product for small business, Express Insurance, and the Bank's recent adoption of the Equator Principles, a globally recognized voluntary set of standards for financial institutions to assess and manage the social and environmental risks of international project financing.

In addition, attendees will hear about Ex-Im Bank's new Global Access for Small Business program, and the latest use of the Bank's innovative Supply Chain product by a new participant, Caterpillar.

Chairman Hochberg will deliver a luncheon keynote address about innovation, global opportunities and America's competitive edge on the first day of the conference.

Following the luncheon, the Bank will present awards to U.S. exporters, lenders and insurance brokers for:

• Deal of the Year - Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich.
• Renewable Energy Exporter of the Year - Gamesa, Langhorne, Pa.
• Small Business Exporter of the Year - Wallquest, Inc., Wayne, Pa.
• Lender of the Year - Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, Calif.
• Broker of the Year - Global Business Solutions, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Sub-Saharan Africa Exporter of the Year - Planson International Corp., New Gloucester, Maine

The award ceremony will take place at 1:45 p.m. on March 31.

The Ex-Im Bank conference will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Details are on the Ex-Im Bank web site at www.exim.gov.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private sector export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing products, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance, and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. capital goods and services.

By charging fees and interest on all loan related transactions, Ex-Im Bank is self-sustaining. It is able to cover all operation costs and potential losses while also producing revenue. The Bank has generated $3.4 billion for U.S. taxpayers over the past 5 years.

In fiscal year 2010, Ex-Im Bank authorized a record high of approximately $24.5 billion in loans, guarantees and insurance (including more than $5 billion in authorizations for small businesses), supporting an estimated 230,000 American jobs. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, the Bank approved $8 billion in total financing authorizations, supporting nearly $9.3 billion in export sales. The sales in turn support approximately 66,000 American jobs in communities across the country.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The conference is now at capacity and registration for attendees is closed.

HOWEVER, accredited news media may register on-site at the Conference Press Room (located in the Committee Room at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.)