EX-IM BANK SIGNS MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION WITH BLACK SEA TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BANK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 28, 2002
Media Contact Name/Phone
Linda Formella (202) 565-3200January29, 2002

To facilitate greater access to financing for sales in the Black Sea region, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank. On January 25, 2002, Ex-Im Bank Vice Chairman and First Vice President Eduardo Aguirre and Black Sea Trade and Development Bank President Ersoy Volkan signed the memorandum of cooperation at Ex-Im Bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Under the agreement, Ex-Im Bank's short-, medium- and long-term financing products can be used to support exports of U.S. goods and services to any country located in the Black Sea region, which includes Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The agreement will enable the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to act as an obligor or guarantor on specific transactions and also provide for a parallel financing arrangement.

Ex-Im Bank is pleased to be taking this positive step toward developing a relationship with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank. We are already active in several countries of the region, and we anticipate financing several transactions as a result of this agreement, Ex-Im Bank Vice Chairman Aguirre said.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank is a regional institution with the dual mandate of supporting economic development in and regional cooperation among the member countries of the Black Sea Economic Community. The bank provides project and trade financing for the public and private sectors of the member countries.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal government agency that helps finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets, by providing loans, guarantees and export credit insurance. In fiscal year 2001, Ex-Im Bank authorized financing to support $12.5 billion of U.S. exports worldwide.