New Members Named to Ex-Im Bank Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The members of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) have named two new members, and eight returning members, to the Ex-Im Bank sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee (SAAC). The committee, established by act of Congress, provides expert guidance in developing policies to strengthen Bank support of U.S. exports to Africa.
Chairing the committee this year will be returning member Wayne A. Ramus, vice president of GE Capital Markets Corporate, Waukesha, Wisc.
The two newly appointed members are: Donna Alexander, president, Bankers' Association for Finance & Trade (BAFT), Washington, D.C.; and Carla G. Campos, senior vice president and director of the Project and Export Finance team, HSBC Securities Inc., New York, N.Y.
Ex-Im Bank recognizes the value of receiving advice on the Bank's policies and programs directly from the U.S. companies that comprise our client base, said J. Joseph Grandmaison, a member of Ex-Im Bank's board of directors. That is even more important when it comes to the current credit crisis and the unique challenges of doing business in sub-Saharan Africa.
The seven other returning SAAC members are: Vernon D. Darko, president and CEO of EquipXP, LC, Houston, Tex.; Bruce Fullerton, president, Africair, Inc., Miami, Fla.; Ambassador Joseph Huggins, founder, president and chief executive officer of The Huggins Group (THG), Fairfax, Va., and former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana; Angela L. Rankin, credit manager, Electrolux Major Appliances- International Division, Pittsburgh, Pa.; David M. Roebuck, PE, president and co-founder of Armentrout Roebuck Matheny Consulting Group, Athens, Ga.; Marysue K. Shore, president, Global Business Strategies, Washington, D.C.; and Bert Ubamadu, managing director, Fairmont Capital Strategy Group LLC, Washington, D.C.
The SAAC's next scheduled meeting is March 25, 2009 at the Bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C. The meeting is open to the public.
Sub-Saharan Africa is a priority region for the Bank.Based on its Congressional mandate, Ex-Im Bank is pursuing new initiatives to expand financing support of U.S. manufactured goods and services to the region.
Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the United States. The independent, self-sustaining federal agency, now in its 75th year, helps 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.
In fiscal year 2008, Ex-Im Bank authorized $14.4 billion in financing to support an estimated $19.6 billion of U.S. exports worldwide. Eighty-six percent of nearly 2,328 transactions directly benefited small-business exporters. For sub-Saharan African markets alone during fiscal year 2008, Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $555.3 million in export-credit insurance and guarantees, and $20.2 million in working capital guarantees. For more information visit www.exim.gov.