Ex-Im Bank Board Chairman Hochberg Testifies to Congress on Bank's Record Setting Year, Approximately $24 Billion in Export Financing - Supporting Over 200,000 Jobs

Board of Director's Final Meeting Approves $1.5 Billion in New Financing

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States Fred P. Hochberg testified today before members of the House Financial Services committee regarding an unprecedented year for export finance authorizations and U.S. jobs supported by the Bank.

"Since its establishment in 1934," Hochberg said, "Ex-Im has had but one central objective: to create and sustain American jobs through exports.  When the books close tomorrow on FY '10, it will be another record-setting year with approximately 3400 transactions supporting over 200,000 American jobs."

Authorizations this fiscal year have already exceeded last year's record of $21 billion and are expected to be approximately $24 billion in export financing when final, detailed year-end figures are available in early October.

Said Hochberg, "This important work is done at no cost to the American taxpayer.  Since 1992, Ex-Im has returned more than $4.5 billion to taxpayers."

The webcast of the Committee Hearing, "Ex-Im Bank Oversight: The Role of Trade Finance in Doubling Exports over Five Years", may be viewed on the Committee's web site at:

http://go.usa.gov/xLd.

Also today in its final actions for fiscal year 2010, the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) approved $1.52 billion in export financing transactions.

The financing approved today supports an estimated $1.7 billion in U.S. exports, and more than 12,000 U.S. jobs at both small and large businesses.  

"Ex-Im Bank's strong performance this year shows there remains a critical need for financing by U.S. exporters, and by helping meet that need we're supporting American jobs," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg.  "We remain on track to help reach the goal of President Obama's National Export Initiative (NEI) of doubling U.S. exports and creating 2 million new jobs by 2015."

In today's actions the board approved:

• a $7 million increase to a $5 million revolving working capital loan guarantee facility used by Retech Systems, LLC), a small business in Ukiah, Calif.  The additional $7 million will support Retech's $15.2 million sale of a cold hearth furnace and related equipment and spare parts to China.  The end user of the equipment will be Yunnan Titanium Industry Company Ltd., in China's Yunnan Province.  The sale will support 110 existing American jobs.  Today's action means Ex-Im Bank has supported almost $23 million worth of exports by Retech under this guarantee.
• $1 billion in financing to back an estimated $1.12 billion in exports of equipment and services to Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, for several projects – the Cantarell Oilfield, the New Projects of Pemex Exploration and Production  (NPP), and the Strategic Gas Program (PEG).  The exports will support an estimated 8,900 U.S. jobs.

Part of the financing -- a $200 million facility covering sales to the three abovementioned PEMEX projects -- supports exclusively U.S. small business exports. PEMEX has provided a list of over 900 U.S. small businesses across 41 states from which it may purchase U.S. goods and services.

The Board today also approved:

• $447 million in authorizations to back $511 million in U.S. aircraft exports.  These exports in turn will support an estimated 3,500 U.S. jobs.

Ex-Im Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees to help small and medium-sized U.S. businesses, export-credit insurance to protect exporters against nonpayment by foreign buyers, and loan guarantees and direct loans to assist foreign buyers of U.S. goods and services.

For more information, including how to access Ex-Im Bank export financing, see Ex-Im Bank's Web site at www.exim.gov or call 202-565-3946 (EXIM).

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States