News

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) approved a record $443.3 million in working capital guarantee financing in fiscal 1997, enabling small and mid-size U.S. companies to sell $2.3 billion of equipment and services in overseas markets. Working capital guarantee financing, which helps companies finance export-related costs such as receivables and inventory, increased 17 percent over fiscal 1996.

Ex-Im Bank`s Delegated Authority Program, introduced in 1994, helped propel working capital financing to new highs by empowering local lenders with authority to make credit decisions.

This is the kind of partnership with the private sector that is going to enable Ex-Im Bank to do more with less to support American exporters in a time of resource constraints, said Ex-Im Bank President and Chairman James A. Harmon.

Sam Z. Zytcer, Vice President of the U.S. Division which handles working capital financing, said: The Delegated Authority Program now involves 80 lenders and their affiliates in 42 states. We are seeking to expand the program by adding asset-based lenders so together we can reach more small businesses needing export financing.

In fiscal 1997, 86 percent of Ex-Im Bank`s working capital transactions were processed by delegated authority lenders — up from 68 percent of transactions in fiscal 1997.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal government agency that supports American jobs by financing U.S. exports around the world. In fiscal 1997, the Bank authorized $12.2 billion in financing supporting 2,000 export transactions. Annually, the Bank sustains an estimated 200,000 U.S. jobs directly, and another one million jobs indirectly.