EXIM Approves $97.2 Million Working Capital Guarantee Facility to Support Embraer Executive Aircraft Exports Manufactured in Melbourne, Florida
WASHINGTON - The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) yesterday unanimously approved a $97.2 million, two-year revolving working capital loan guarantee facility to support exports of business jet aircraft manufactured by Embraer Executive Aircraft, Inc. (EEA) in Melbourne, Florida. EXIM's working capital loan guarantee is estimated to support approximately $200 million of EEA's executive aircraft exports and 700 American aerospace jobs at the company's manufacturing facility in Melbourne and at suppliers across the United States.
The transaction is a renewal of EXIM's working capital loan guarantee facility approved in July 2020 and leverages EXIM's COVID-19 relief measures. These steps taken by the EXIM Board of Directors in March 2020 continue to provide financing consistency and reliability during this historic pandemic and ensure that American jobs in the aircraft industry and related supply chains remain dependable.
COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions have prevented EEA's foreign buyers from traveling to the United States to take delivery of their purchased aircraft and complete payments, which has affected on EEA's revenue stream. The EXIM-backed revolving loan facility will help EEA to meet its working capital needs during the two-year term of the facility. EXIM will have a first-priority security interest in EEA's inventory of executive aircraft.
The guaranteed lender is Apple Bank for Savings in New York, New York. The financing was arranged and is serviced by AirFinance Leasing, LLC, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which is an EXIM Qualified Advisor that has originated and serviced numerous EXIM-backed asset financings over the past decade.
"This transaction demonstrates that EXIM can step in to make a critical difference for U.S. exporters and the workers that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Acting President and Chairman James Burrows. "The pandemic has affected the liquidity of commercial lenders and their ability to make new loans, which has, in turn, hit the aircraft and aviation industries particularly hard. EXIM's support enables these loan facilities to continue to support America's aerospace manufacturers and the jobs that their exports create and sustain."
Embraer Executive Aircraft, Inc., operates its manufacturing facility on the north side of Florida's Melbourne International Airport and has approximately 2,000 U.S. employees. The company's executive jet portfolio consists of the entry-level Phenom 100EV, the light Phenom 300E, the midsize Praetor 500, and the super-midsize Praetor 600. The fleet exceeds 1,400 aircraft in more than 70 countries.
ABOUT EXIM:
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation's official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt. Learn more at www.exim.gov.