EX-IM BANK OFFERS REFERRAL FEE INCENTIVE TO TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is now offering member associations of its Trade Association Partners Program (TAPP) the incentive of referral fees for connecting their members with Ex-Im Bank's programs geared for small business. Ex-Im Bank is offering a $500 referral fee for connecting a trade association member with an Ex-Im Bank delegated authority lender under the Working Capital Guarantee Program if the transaction becomes operative, and a $250 referral fee for an insurance policy (either multi-buyer or single buyer) that is approved for a member. The referral fees apply only to transactions involving first-time users of Ex-Im Bank programs.
This new incentive program will encourage our TAPP members to spread the word about Ex-Im Bank's support for small businesses. The more than 50 member associations in the TAPP potentially can reach hundreds, if not thousands, of small businesses to help them learn about how Ex-Im Bank financing can help them grow their businesses through exporting, said Ex-Im Bank Vice Chair and Chief Operating Officer Jackie Clegg.
Introduced last July, TAPP is a collaborative effort between Ex-Im Bank and participating trade and professional associations to disseminate information on Ex-Im Bank's export financing, particularly export credit insurance and working capital guarantees, available to help small and medium-sized businesses to begin or expand export sales. In the program, associations inform their members about Ex-Im Bank's programs and refer interested firms to the Bank's six regional offices and more than 35 state and local entities providing access to Ex-Im Bank's services through its City/State Partners Program.
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal government agency that helps finance the export of U.S. goods and services to developing markets around the world through loans, guarantees and export credit insurance. In fiscal year 1999, Ex-Im Bank supported nearly $17 billion of U.S. exports. More than 86 percent of these transactions involved small businesses.