Deputy Mayor Steel, Speaker Quinn, Commissioner Walsh and Chairman Hochberg Announce Partnership to Help City's Small Businesses Increase Export Sales

Partnership With Ex-Im Bank Will Help New York City Businesses Gain Competitive Edge in Global Economy

NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel, Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Small Business Services Commissioner Robert W. Walsh, and Chairman Fred P. Hochberg announced today that New York City small businesses will be able to more easily access the resources they need to increase export sales, thanks to a new partnership between the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS). The announcement took place at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during a roundtable conversation with manufacturing businesses in New York City involved in exporting. SBS is the Bank's most recent City-State Partner, which will help NYC Business Solutions expand its financial assistance services to businesses interested in starting or growing export sales.

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"With this exciting new partnership, the City's Small Business Solutions Centers will add a new tool to their toolkit – helping to connect New York businesses to the suite of products and services offered by the Ex-Im Bank," Deputy Mayor Steel said. "So in addition to being able to get help formulating a business plan, accessing capital and hiring talented New Yorkers, small businesses will be able to get a leg up in selling more of their products overseas, which means more and more jobs in all five boroughs here at home."

"This partnership capitalizes on the Department of Small Business Services' experience in helping small businesses grow and the Ex-Im Bank's expertise in helping businesses tap into new markets for their goods and services," said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. "This collaboration not only gives local businesses the ability to grow their bottom lines, it can help a baker in Woodside sell bagels in Japan or a designer in Bedford Stuyvesant sell their jewelry in Ireland. I thank Deputy Mayor Steel, Commissioner Walsh and Chairman Hochberg for joining forces on this important initiative and for their continued dedication to helping grow our city's small businesses."

"Last year, NYC Business Solutions helped connect small businesses to nearly $39 million in capital, and partnering with Ex-Im Bank will help us go even further," said Rob Walsh, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. "We will now be able to assist businesses who want to expand beyond the five boroughs and export their NYC-made goods and services globally." 

"Exports create and save U.S jobs, and I am delighted that Ex-Im Bank will be working with the New York City Department of Small Business Services," said Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank. "This partnership gives New York City exporters the competitive edge they need to access global markets."

"Essential to the economic development of New York City is the expansion of our capacity to export," said Council Member Diana Reyna, Chair of the Committee on Small Business. "A partnership between the Ex-Im Bank and the City's Business Solutions Centers combines two excellent resources for manufacturers.  With this synthesis of federal and municipal resources, City manufacturers will have a unique competitive edge in making and selling products with the 'Made in NYC' seal."

"This partnership reflects a new wave of economic development that embraces a critical insight of urban economist Jane Jacobs: 'The economic foundation of cities is trade.' Given New York's strong global position, economic base, and demographic diversity, increasing exports is a way to grow jobs in here in the short term and restructure this region's economy for the long haul," said Bruce Katz, vice president and director for the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution.

"The creative financing initiative announced today is a great example of how New York City is continuously coming up with ideas for tapping new resources to fuel economic growth and diversify our economy," stated Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City.

"Public sector commitments – including enormous support from the City and increasing support from the State and federal governments -- has leveraged more than half a billion dollars in private investment at the Navy Yard, including a growing number of exporters,"  said Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. "The partnership with Ex-Im Bank provides the opportunity for greater growth of small, industrial businesses at the Yard."

Ex-Im Bank's City-State Partners bring state, county, and local non-profit economic development entities together with Ex-Im Bank to expand export opportunities for American small-and mid-size exporters.

The seven NYC Business Solutions Centers are in all five boroughs and provide free services including financing assistance, business courses, legal assistance, navigating government, incentives, recruiting, training employees, and certification. So far this year, NYC Business Solutions centers have provided more than 6,300 free services to over 4,200 businesses.

By collaborating with Ex-Im Bank, New York City is actively helping exporters increase export sales and advising small businesses about the potential to grow through exporting. NYC Business Solutions staff has been trained on how to identify businesses in New York City that could benefit from exporting and how to best connect businesses looking for assistance.

In FY 2012, Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $280 million in export financing to New York businesses that export. This figure included more than $125 million in small-business authorizations.

Since January 2011, Ex-Im Bank has expanded its outreach to small businesses through the Global Access for Small Business program. Global Access is supported by a wide variety of business and financial and government partners, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and the Bank's 60-plus city/state partners located throughout the U.S. Since first launching, Ex-Im Bank has held more than 40 Global Access forums around the country.

About the NYC Department of Small Business Services
The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) makes it easier for businesses in New York City to start, operate, and expand by providing direct assistance to business owners, fostering neighborhood development in commercial districts, and linking employers to a skilled and qualified workforce. For more information on all of SBS' services go to nyc.gov.

About Ex-Im Bank
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps 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 $35.8 billion in total 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. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States