New York Ranks 5th Nationally in Ex-Im Bank FY'11 Small Business Financing

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced that in its preliminary Fiscal Year 2011 (FY'11) figures, $123 million in export credit was authorized for New York small businesses, making New York one of the leading states in the country for Ex-Im small business financing.

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"Ex-Im Bank financing is supporting local jobs in cities across New York," said Fred P. Hochberg, Ex-Im Bank chairman and president. "Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we will continue to provide our small and medium-sized business owners with the tools they need to compete in today's brutally competitive global marketplace."

"The Ex-Im Bank has helped finance over $42 million in export sales in my district alone, supporting local jobs and bringing much needed economic activity to our small businesses and communities," said Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, ranking member of the International Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee. "It's a model that's creating jobs across the country without any cost to taxpayers, and I'm proud to support it."

Ex-Im Bank recently reported that it has hit historic levels exceeding $32 billion in transactions, which are supporting $40.6 billion in export sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs at over 3,600 U.S. companies. The Bank authorized approximately $400 million in overall export credit financing for New York companies.  

"U.S. exports are contributing to our economic recovery and the record-setting growth of Ex-Im export financing is helping to support that trend," said Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council. "American exporters and Ex-Im remain on track to achieve President Obama's goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014."

Featured New York Small Business Transaction
Love & Quiches started in Susan Axelrod's kitchen in 1973 and now sells desserts to countries in the Middle East, Far East, and Russia. The business outgrew the kitchen, the garage, a small, local storefront, a first factory and now a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Freeport, New York.

Like many small businesses, Love & Quiches depends on lines of credit and other forms of working capital to finance and grow its business. In the process, lenders review the quality of any company's outstanding accounts receivables to determine how much they are willing to lend. But, they are wary of foreign receivables. When Love & Quiches applied for financing with Well Fargo Bank, Ex-Im Bank's small business export credit insurance, backed by the U.S. government, provided the reassurance needed for Wells Fargo to advance funds against the company's foreign receivables and improved its cash flow.

The policy has been in place since 2006. It has covered nearly $5 million of exports in the 12 months ending April, 2011, and supported about 35 of its 250 employees. Love & Quiches' insurance broker is International Risk Consultants and their receivables are assigned to Wells Fargo Bank.

"I borrow money based on my receivables. My foreign sales may not be acceptable to my U.S. lenders, but because they're insured by the Export-Import Bank, they're treated like domestic receivables," stated Andrew Axelrod, President of Love & Quiches.

Small Business
Small business financing rose over 70 percent from $3.3 billion in FY 2008 to $6 billion in FY 2011 and is up $1 billion from last year. As part of its efforts to increase this portfolio, Ex-Im Bank's Global Access for Small Business initiative has held more than 20 forums across the country this year, reaching 4,000 small business exporters. For information on Ex-Im Bank's small business transactions, please visit: http://www.exim.gov/sbgport/SB_success.cfm

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. The Bank is a self-sustaining agency that receives no net appropriation from the U.S. Congress and charges interest and fees to fund its transactions.

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.  

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States