News

Updated: August 26, 2020

WASHINGTON - The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Board of Directors today voted unanimously to notify the U.S. Congress, pursuant to the law, of its consideration of two potential transactions, including one that would utilize an EXIM COVID-19 economic recovery measure.

At the conclusion of a 35-day Congressional notification period, the EXIM Board may give final consideration to these transactions, which, if approved, would support an estimated *3,700 jobs across the United States. Members of the public also may provide comment on the potential transactions through the Federal Register.

"EXIM has an important role in our nation's economic recovery by supporting our great American workers who want their exporting businesses to succeed in the very competitive global marketplace," said EXIM President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed. "Because of our swift action to bolster U.S. exporters in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, EXIM is here to help manage risk and support and preserve U.S. jobs and our domestic supply chains during this critical time for our country."

In the first proposed transaction, if ultimately approved by the EXIM Board under EXIM's COVID-19 temporarily expanded Supply Chain Finance Guarantee Program, EXIM would guarantee 90 percent, or $459 million, of a $510 million purchase facility for a term of one year for Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank to purchase accounts receivable from CFM International, Inc. (CFMI)/General Electric Corporation (GE) that are due from The Boeing Company. The proposed purchase facility would support an estimated $3 billion in export sales of aircraft engines and an estimated *1,700 total direct and indirect jobs throughout the U.S. supply chain, including jobs at CFMI/GE across Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio. The EXIM guaranteed financing would be repaid over 12 months. The proposed financing support is needed due to the current lack of capacity among commercial banks and heightened risk associated with the aircraft manufacturing industry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic conditions. The transaction will facilitate increased liquidity for CFMI/GE and its suppliers.

In a separate, second proposed transaction, if ultimately approved by the EXIM Board, EXIM would provide a loan guarantee in an amount up to $498 million for Turk Hava Yollari A.O. (Turkish Airlines) of Istanbul, Turkey. This transaction would support the export of U.S.-manufactured commercial aircraft to Turkish Airlines. The exporter is The Boeing Company of Everett, Washington, which will supply the airframes. The engines are manufactured by General Electric Company, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio. This transaction would support an estimated *2,000 jobs across the United States. The EXIM guaranteed financing would be repaid over 12 years in 48 quarterly installments of principal, with interest in arrears, following delivery of the aircraft. The proposed financing support is needed due to the current lack of capacity in the commercial banks and capital markets for long-term debt for Turkish Airlines. EXIM financing is also needed to meet competition from foreign, officially sponsored export credit financing from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

EXIM support may be extended only where there is a "reasonable assurance of repayment" and should supplement, not compete with, private capital. Both proposed transactions are anticipated to generate millions of dollars in fees paid to EXIM.

During the meeting, the EXIM Board also approved changes to EXIM's Country Limitation Schedule (CLS) that are effective June 18, 2020. The changes will be reflected at that time on EXIM's website. The CLS is a document that expresses whether EXIM is open or closed for business in a given market. Country conditions in markets in which EXIM is open must meet EXIM's Charter-mandated requirement of a reasonable assurance of repayment. The EXIM Board has established a linkage between the reasonable assurance of repayment mandate and the country risk ratings from the Interagency Country Risk Assessment System implemented by the Office of Management and Budget. These ratings, which are subject to routine evaluation, reflect the repayment risk of doing business in a market and are required to be used by all U.S. government agencies engaged in cross-border credit activities to estimate expected loss. With this update, EXIM is open for business in 190 countries.

"I am pleased to notify Congress of EXIM's consideration of these transactions today. The need for EXIM financing could not be more clear, given the upheaval in private sector financing," said Board Member Judith D. Pryor. "These transactions combined will support over 3,700 American jobs at a time when the manufacturing industry is facing significant disruption. I look forward to final consideration of these applications in the coming weeks."

"By advancing these transactions today, EXIM continues to deliver on our mission to support U.S.-based jobs," said EXIM Board Member Spencer T. Bachus III. "This is especially important as we deal with the effects of COVID-19. With EXIM backing, over 3,700 Americans nationwide will continue to work and be able to provide for themselves and their families."

Chairman Reed added, "I want to thank my fellow Directors and all of EXIM's dedicated staff for their hard work to further our mission and protect the U.S. taxpayer. These actions are prime examples of why President Trump and Congress worked together on a bipartisan basis to restore EXIM's board quorum with new leadership and a stronger mandate to advance the competitiveness of American companies and their workers. EXIM is needed now more than ever, and we will continue our important work to support American jobs by facilitating exports."

ABOUT EXIM:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.

For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.

*EXIM updated this number on August 26, 2020