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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Toronto-Dominion Bank will receive the Bank of the Year Award from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) at Ex-Im Bank's 2004 annual conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 29.

Toronto-Dominion jumped from Ex-Im Bank's 35th most active lending partner by dollar volume in 2001 to the 8th most active in 2003 by increasing its transactions with Ex-Im Bank from three in 2001 to 59 last year, and helped create and sustain hundreds of U.S. jobs in the process. The increase makes Toronto-Dominion Ex-Im Bank's third largest lending partner in terms of number of transactions.

One of Canada's largest banks, Toronto-Dominion, headquartered in Toronto, established a trade finance operation in Houston, Texas in 1995, and in 2001 decided to expand its U.S. export financing capability by focusing on Ex-Im Bank-supported financing opportunities.

To do this, we put together a team of people with extensive Ex-Im Bank business development and operational expertise to build our Ex-Im Bank practice, said Nicholas Renna, vice president and director of Toronto-Dominion's Trade Finance Group. We expect our growth to continue in 2004 while continuing to rely on extensive due diligence and the support of Ex-Im Bank as our core partner.

Toronto-Dominion has shifted its primary trade finance emphasis from large corporate customers to transactions with foreign buyers. This strategy has introduced the bank to many small and medium-sized exporters and suppliers in the US.

Toronto-Dominion's performance during the past fiscal year is proof of the positive results that can come from a focused approach to trade finance, supported by senior management and supplemented with an able professional team, said Ex-Im Bank Chairman Philip Merrill. Toronto-Dominion has worked closely with Ex-Im Bank's staff. They have been active in several of our global markets with medium-term deals that range from small to large. We look forward to a continuing partnership with the Toronto-Dominion team.

Ex-Im Bank's 29th annual conference on April 29 and 30, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., will include speeches by Treasury Secretary John Snow, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, and others. It will also feature specialized workshops and exhibits on export finance and trade to help U.S. exporters expand their sales to foreign markets.

In conjunction with the conference, Ex-Im Bank recognizes several companies each year for their high level of activity to increase U.S. exports through use of Ex-Im Bank programs.

Ex-Im Bank this year marks its 70th year of helping finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and direct loans. In fiscal year 2003, Ex-Im Bank, an independent federal agency, authorized $14.3 billion of U.S. exports worldwide. For more information on Ex-Im Bank and its annual conference, visit www.exim.gov.