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Washington, D.C. - Amegy Bank, N.A. (Amegy Bank) received the Small Business Lender of the Year award from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). The award was presented at the Bank's 39th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Houston, Texas-based Amegy Bank has consistently been among Ex-Im Bank's most successful lending partners in the Working Capital Program by promoting guarantees and short-term insurance to qualified small businesses. In FY 2013, Amegy Bank achieved a milestone in its participation in the program by reaching more than $100 million in authorizations, 76 percent of which were small business transactions. Over the past three fiscal years, Amegy Bank has closed 66 working capital guarantees, totaling more than $282.9 million. Of that total, $200 million has supported small business export sales.

Connecting American small business with the financing they need to succeed is what we are all about here at Ex-Im. Amegy Bank's strong support of U.S. exports demonstrates our shared commitment to making sure the backbone of our economy - American small businesses - can compete in the global economy and create jobs here at home,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “I look forward to continuing our work with Amegy Bank to open more doors for small businesses.”

Amegy received Fast Track Lender Status in October 2013, a distinction awarded to lenders with demonstrated skills in asset based lending. With $14 billion in assets and more than 80 locations across Texas, Amegy Bank has been a key partner in working toward Ex-Im Bank's mission of supporting small business exports across Texas and the entire country.

“Amegy Bank is honored to receive the Small Business Lender of the Year award and we are proud of our 20-year relationship with Ex-Im Bank in the Working Capital Program,” said T.J. Raguso, Executive Vice President of the International Division at Amegy Bank. “As an active middle market lender in the largest exporting state, Amegy Bank relies heavily on the Working Capital Program to deliver needed export financing to our small business customers. The program helps our customers compete globally and grow revenue.”

Ex-Im Bank's 2014 Annual Conference will focus on the global business environment and prospects for growth. The event will feature prominent members of the business and government community including Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Former Treasury Secretary and President Emeritus of Harvard University Lawrence Summers, Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO John Stumpf, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk, Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya Austin, and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. 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 creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. 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. In the past fiscal year alone, Ex-Im Bank earned for U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion above the cost of operations.

In FY 2013, Ex-Im Bank approved more than $27 billion in total authorizations to support an estimated $37.4 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 205,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For the year, the Bank approved a record 3,413 transactions— or 89 percent—for small-businesses. Small business exporters can learn about how Ex-Im Bank products can help them increase foreign sales athttp://go.usa.gov/ZVTd. For other information about Ex-Im, visit www.exim.gov.