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Washington, D.C. - The International Trade Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio today received the City-State Partner of the Year award from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). The award was presented at the Bank's 38th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

"The San Antonio International Trade Center has been a leading champion for Texas small- and medium-sized businesses owners, and they are a model for the rest of the country," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg. "By working together, it is our hope that more "Made in Texas" labels will be found in stores around the world."
We are proud of our work in helping Texas boost its economy through export growth," said Jaime A. Martinez of the International Trade Center's Texas International Business Accelerator. "Our work with Ex-Im Bank has been beneficial to small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the state, and we look forward to maintaining a strong partnership in the years ahead."

Established in 1992, the mission of the International Trade Center is to provide businesses with trade consulting services, market research, and training programs that deliver results. ITC's provides assistance to foreign-based businesses in successfully establishing operations in Texas, advises governments throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on how to adapt and startup their own SBDC networks via the Small Business Network of the Americas (SBNA), and helps connect millions of small business clients via its SBDCGlobal.com online platform.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, the Center increased its export finance loan volume to $45 million, a 400% increase from FY'11. In FY'12, the Center assisted its clients in generating $118 million in export sales, enter 151 new markets, and introduce 148 new products to various markets. The Center also delivered industry-leading training to more than 850 business professionals at 32 events.

Ex-Im Bank's City-State Partners bring state and local nonprofit economic development entities together to expand awareness of export opportunities and financing. They advise local small businesses on exporting and enable them to work with trade-finance specialists. More than 70 Ex-Im City-State Partners are located across the country.

Ex-Im Bank's 2013 Annual Conference will feature prominent members of the business and government community including Vice President Joe Biden, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, former National Security Advisor General James Jones, Xerox Corporation CEO Ursula Burns, and Citibank Chairman Michael O'Neill. A full listing of speakers, panelists, and moderators is available on Ex-Im's website: www.exim.gov
About Ex-Im Bank

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved nearly $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012 - an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales - also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.