Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg to Address BAFT Conference on the Importance of Exports
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg will underscore the critical importance of exports to U.S. economic recovery in a speech at the Annual Conference on International Trade of the Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) Nov. 5 in New York City.
In an 8:30 a.m. keynote address in Ballroom D at the Grand Hyatt, Hochberg will reiterate President Barack Obama's call for American industry to take advantage of every opportunity for export-driven growth.
He will highlight recent Ex-Im Bank innovations, some in cooperation with BAFT members, to keep U.S. exports flowing during the current economic crisis. These include a Capital Markets Facility and a Take-out Option, both of which increase liquidity in a time of constrained credit.
Hochberg also will outline his vision for expanding the number of U.S. exporters, the number of countries they export to, and the number of banks that offer Ex-Im Bank products. He will update BAFT members on the eight-city series of ExportsLive seminars that Ex-Im Bank has launched around the country in cooperation with five other trade-related federal agencies to provide the tools and techniques to help American companies compete in the global marketplace.
In fiscal year 2009, Ex-Im Bank achieved its highest financing level since its establishment in 1934, authorizing more than $21 billion in support of U.S. exports. The Bank also set a record for financing of U.S. small business exports at $4.36 billion. As a result of the fees and interest collected by the Bank during fiscal 2009, taxpayers earned $135 million in excess of the cost of operating Ex-Im Bank.
Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the United States. It is an independent, self-sustaining federal agency. Now in its 75th year, it helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by financing the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.