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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $38 million loan guarantee to support the sale by Saba, Inc., Memphis, Tenn., of services and equipment to a 140-year-old Turkish non-profit foundation to build a retirement home and cinema complex.

Saba will provide procurement and project management services to Basbakani Baskanliginda Darussafaka (Darussafaka), a foundation in Istanbul formed in 1863 by the Ottoman sultans to provide free education for needy children. Numerous U.S. suppliers will provide materials and equipment for Darussafaka's projects to build a retirement home/assisted living facility in Urla, Turkey, near Izmire, and an auditorium and cinema/retail complex in Istanbul.

This transaction reflects key Ex-Im Bank priorities, said Ex-Im Bank Chairman Philip Merrill. It supports U.S. service sector exports, an area where we want to expand our activity. In addition, the sales go to one of the strategic markets that the U.S. government's trade promotion team believes hold the greatest opportunities for American exporters.

Turkey is a key market for U.S. exports, said Saba President John Osteen. Without Ex-Im Bank, this transaction would not have gone forward. This will help sustain many U.S. jobs in many places around the country.

The guaranteed lender on the transaction is Deutsche Bank AG, New York, NY.

Darussafaka has an existing retirement home in Istanbul that has been profitable. The foundation has a highly reputed 12-grade college preparatory school in Istanbul.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal government agency that helps 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 authorized financing to support $14.3 billion of U.S. exports worldwide.