EX-IM BANK AUTHORIZES $600 MILLION IN MEDIUM-TERM FINANCING TO SUPPORT U.S. EXPORTS TO MEXICO IN FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF FY 2004 [Espanol]
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In the first three quarters of fiscal year (FY) 2004 ending June 30, 2004, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) authorized $600 million in medium-term insurance and loan guarantees to assist in financing a wide range of U.S. exports to Mexico, the largest single country market for Ex-Im Bank-supported U.S. exports. Ex-Im Bank's medium-term financing typically supports transactions on repayment terms of one year to five years. Ex-Im Bank's loan guarantee and insurance cover the risks of buyer default for commercial and political reasons.
Use of Ex-Im Bank's medium-term financial products is growing, particularly for U.S. exports to Mexico, our largest country market. With Ex-Im Bank's support, U.S. companies are able to offer term financing from commercial lenders that otherwise would not be available to their Mexican buyers. Many of the U.S. exporters that benefit from this financing are small and mid-sized businesses, Ex-Im Bank Chairman Philip Merrill said.
In the first three quarters of FY 2004, Ex-Im Bank authorized medium-term financing to support a wide range of U.S. exports to Mexico, from agricultural and construction equipment to buses and consumer-related goods. The following are some of the Mexico-related transactions that were approved by the Bank in the third quarter of FY 2004.
Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering Co. of Gloucester, Mass., a small business manufacturer of film plastic extrusion machinery, recently benefited from Ex-Im Bank's medium-term insurance. Wells Fargo Bank N.A. of El Paso, Texas, received an Ex-Im Bank medium-term insurance policy to support its loan to a Mexican manufacturer of agriculture-related plastic film for its purchase of Battenfeld Gloucester equipment.
Grain Handlers USA Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn., a small business manufacturer of grain processing equipment, is exporting a grain dryer, silos and related equipment to a Mexican buyer with the assistance of an Ex-Im Bank medium-term loan guarantee. The lender, First National Bank of San Diego, received a $1 million Ex-Im Bank loan guarantee to support its loan to the buyer.
Great Dane Limited Partnership of Chicago, Ill., and Utility Trailers de Mexico of Laredo, Texas, are exporting new refrigerated trailers to a buyer in Mexico with the assistance of an Ex-Im Bank medium-term loan guarantee. The lender, Nacional Financiera S.N.C. (NAFINSA), received a $600,000 Ex-Im Bank loan guarantee to support its loan to the buyer. The transaction was done under Ex-Im Bank's Foreign Currency Guarantee Program, which allows for payment in Mexican pesos.
Several U.S. exercise equipment manufacturers are benefiting from an Ex-Im Bank medium-term insurance policy to support a sale to a Mexican fitness center that is expanding six facilities. Wells Fargo N.A. of El Paso, Texas, received a $2.6 million Ex-Im Bank insurance policy for its loan to support the sale by Life Fitness of Schiller Park, Ill.; Precor Inc. of Woodinville, Wash.; Muscle Dynamics of Torrance, Calif.; and Paramount Fitness Corp. of Los Angeles, Calif.
Ex-Im Bank, the official export credit agency of the United States, is in its 70th year of helping 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. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.