Ex-Im Approves $15.7 Million Direct Loan to Finance Export of American-made Fire Trucks to Nigeria
Washington, D.C. - The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $15.7 million direct loan to the state government of Lagos, Nigeria, to underwrite the purchase of 32 American fire-fighting vehicles manufactured by W.S. Darley & Co. (Darley) of Itasca, Ill.
The loan, which is in line with the Administration's “Doing Business in Africa Campaign,” will support approximately 100 U.S. jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology. Moreover, 65 percent of the financing is expected to support American small businesses.
“This transaction reflects our continued commitment to increasing exports to sub-Saharan Africa while supporting American small-business jobs,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “Additionally, the financing, which targets one of our nine key markets, ensures the government of Lagos can respond efficiently and effectively to emergency situations.”
The State of Lagos, which is home to Nigeria's commercial center and largest city of the same name, plans to upgrade its fleet of fire-fighting vehicles. The governor of Lagos has declared that the expansion and re-equipping of the fire service is an urgent matter of state security.
Darley is a family-owned small business founded in 1908. The company, which has exported its products to foreign markets since the 1940s, designs and manufactures firefighting trucks, equipment, pumping, and safety gear.
“Darley Company is excited to have the opportunity to work with the Lagos Nigeria Fire Service on this important contract,” said Peter Darley, vice president of Darley. “This project was only possible because our customer was able to secure financing with the assistance of Ex-Im. As a small business, this type of support meant we were able to compete with other companies outside of the US for this business. Darley, as well as some of our key partner suppliers, will need to hire new employees so we can fulfill this order.”
Darley's Africa Representative, Trinity International Inc. of Potomac, Md., arranged the transaction.
In FY 2012, Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $1.5 billion to support U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa.
ABOUT EX-IM BANK:
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.
Ex-Im Bank approved $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012 - an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales - also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.
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