EX-IM BANK INAUGURATES LENDING PROGRAM WITH SIX STATE PARTNERS
This fall, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex- Im Bank) will inaugurate a new one-year pilot program matching working capital guarantees and granting Delegated Authority to six state export finance programs that have their own guarantee programs. The Working Capital Co-Guarantee Program will leverage federal and state resources to provide better access to trade finance for U.S. small businesses.
Ex-Im Bank and the six state agencies have scheduled public announcements and half-day seminars in the following cities:
The Florida Export Finance Corporation
Miami, Florida
September 24th
Contact: Steve Fancher (305) 870-5027
The Minnesota Export Finance Authority
St. Paul, Minnesota
October 3rd
Contact: Noor Doja (612) 297-4658
The Georgia Export Finance Fund
Atlanta, Georgia
October 15th
Contact: Jean Prasher (404) 657-1958
The California Export Finance Program
Los Angeles, California
November 13th
Contact: James Newton (714) 562-5519
The Massachusetts Export Finance Authority
Boston,Massachusetts
November 13th
Contact: Eric Hunter (617) 451-2477
The Maryland Export Finance Program
Baltimore, Maryland
Late November
Contact: Marie Torres (410) 767-6382
All six state programs are members of Ex-Im Bank's City/State program, in which state and local organizations market Ex-Im Bank programs and submit applications to the Bank on behalf of small businesses. Four of the state programs — in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and Massachusetts — participate in U.S. Export Assistance Centers. These one-stop shops offer the export assistance services of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, Ex-Im Bank, and participating state and local entities.
Ex-Im Bank's new Working Capital Co-Guarantee Program is an example of the productive synergy of combining federal and state resources to achieve a common goal, said Ex-Im Bank President and Chairman Martin A. Kamarck. Ex-Im Bank is a small federal agency with important trade finance resources for U.S. small business exporters. State and local governments have the geographical advantages and local representation to serve small businesses in their own communities. By creating a co-guarantee financing program, we can maximize the outreach of the financing programs of both Ex-Im Bank and the state partner to make more trade deals and support more U.S. small businesses.
Under the pilot program, Ex-Im Bank and the state export finance program together will provide a working capital guarantee of 90 percent of a commercial working capital loan. Ex-Im Bank and the state program each will share 45 percent of the risk. The remaining 10 percent of the risk will be covered by the commercial lender. The state partner will have Delegated Authority to authorize Ex-Im Bank's working capital guarantee in addition to its own state guarantee for loans made by commercial lenders, which shortens processing time.
Ex-Im Bank's Working Capital Guarantee Program provides guarantees of working capital loans to small- and medium-sized companies that need capital to produce or market goods and services for export. Under Delegated Authority, lenders may commit Ex-Im Bank's working capital guarantee without prior approval.
Ex-Im Bank is an U.S. independent government agency that helps finance and promote the sale of U.S. goods and services around the world.