Ex-Im Bank Authorizes Wells Fargo to Lend for U.S. Small Business Exports to Singapore

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) today announced that two small businesses employing 165 workers in Wyoming and Texas are enabled to export about $7 million worth of nitrogen pumps to an energy-industry company in Singapore.  Payment was secured for the exporters by medium-term export financing extended by Wells Fargo and guaranteed by Ex-Im Bank.  The transaction counts as a first use by Wells Fargo in its capacity as a Medium Term Delegated Authority lender under the MTDA program underwritten by Ex-Im Bank.  The MTDA program offers exporters quick access to buyer financing from a network of lenders who have authority to write loans that will be guaranteed by the Bank.

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"We're pleased that a partnership between the Bank and Wells Fargo is supporting this sale of U.S.-made specialty items to Singapore, a gateway to Asia," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg.  "By our delegating lending authority to Wells Fargo, we shorten the process for obtaining guaranteed loans for exports that sustain U.S. jobs.  That way, Ex-Im keeps its pledge to provide government services at the speed of business."

The transaction supports U.S. jobs in four western states.  The suppliers to the contract are Compression Leasing Services, Inc., located in Casper, Wyoming, and Generon IGS Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas.  Petroleum and geothermal drilling projects require pipe pressure boosters and an on-site source of nearly pure nitrogen.  Generon IGS Inc. plants in Houston and in California manufacture patented modules using fiber membranes for separating nitrogen from air, and for dehydration. The Singapore buyer's American affiliate, Air Drilling Associates Inc. of Denver, Colorado, employs additional Americans whose jobs are supported by the export sale.

Employees of Wells Fargo likewise benefited when the exporters generated this sale and applied for buyer financing to fulfill the order.  Jeramie Maxwell, Wells Fargo's vice-president for structured trade finance, commented: "This Medium Term Delegated Authority transaction is a first for Wells Fargo, and we look forward to expanding our participation.  This Ex-Im Bank program is a great solution to help U.S. businesses compete in the global marketplace and provides another opportunity for Wells Fargo to support our customer's international sales growth.  Ex-Im Bank is an important relationship for Wells Fargo and we will continue to partner with them as we strive to support the global needs of our customers."

Ex-Im Bank's exposure to Singapore as of the end of fiscal year 2012 amounted to $1.8 billion.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK:
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved a total of $35.8 billion in authorizations in FY 2012 – an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. The Bank's authorizations in FY 2012 are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and about 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country.  For more information, visit www.exim.gov.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States