EX-IM BANK SPEEDS SERVICE WITH SIMPLIFIED CREDIT STANDARDS FOR DEALS OF UP TO $5 MILLION
Ex-Im Bank is expanding the scope of its new streamlined Medium-Term Credit Standards to cover transactions in the $1 million-$5 million range, effective Nov. 1, 1999. US companies applying to Ex-Im Bank for insurance, loans or guarantees with terms of one-to-seven years are promised a 20-day turnaround time if their transactions meet the simplified credit criteria. Ex-Im Bank introduced new Medium-Term Credit Standards last May for transactions of under $1 million. The success of that program lead to this expansion of the standards.
We look forward to serving our customers with faster, more transparent case processing, said Ex-Im Bank Chairman James A. Harmon. Small businesses should especially benefit from these new standards, as they compete in the international market.
Under the program, applicants must meet a streamlined set of financial criteria to demonstrate creditworthiness, including earnings, operating income, debt service coverage ratio, cash flow, and total liabilities.
In addition, Ex-Im Bank has dropped the previously required supplemental financial information form on financial institutions for all medium-term transactions, and on nonfinancial institutions for transactions of up to $5 million.
Ex-Im Bank is an independent U.S. government agency that assists in financing the export of US goods and services to developing markets around the world. Worldwide in fiscal year 1999, Ex-Im Bank supported nearly $17 billion of US exports.