Wanda Felton Is Ex-Im Bank First Vice President and Vice Chair

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced that Wanda Felton was sworn in on Monday as first vice president of the Bank's board of directors. Felton, a Democrat from Washington, D.C., who also serves as vice chair, was nominated by President Obama on April 8, 2011, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 26, 2011, for a term expiring on January 20, 2013.

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Vice Chair Felton has more than 20 years of investment banking and alternative investment advisory experience. Early in her career, she worked in corporate finance, serving clients in the financial services industry. For the past 15 years, she has focused on private equity as an advisor to institutional investors and subsequently raising partnership capital.

In the course of her career, Felton has worked on numerous transactions that directed capital to U.S. middle-market companies. In addition, she has led transactions that steered capital to various emerging markets, including sub-Saharan Africa, a region where Ex-Im Bank has a special focus and a congressional mandate to boost exports.

Prior to her Ex-Im appointment, Felton operated MAP Capital Advisors, a financial advisory firm. Previously, she was a managing director at Helix Associates, a director at Credit Suisse First Boston, and a managing director at Hamilton Lane Advisors. She began her career as a loan officer at Ex-Im Bank.

"I am delighted to welcome Wanda Felton as the vice chair and a member of the board. In a sense, she is 'coming home' to the agency where she began her career and which she has already served. The Bank will benefit from her knowledge not only of this institution but also of the key markets where we can have the greatest impact on behalf of U.S. companies and their workers," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg.

"Creating good-paying American jobs and promoting the competitiveness of U.S. companies overseas are imperatives in the current economy. Ex-Im Bank is a vital tool because it can accomplish these goals without burdening taxpayers," Felton said.

Felton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

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 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.

In the first seven months of fiscal year 2011, Ex-Im Bank approved $14.8 billion in total financing authorizations, supporting $17.8 billion in U.S. export sales. These sales will support more than 129,000 American jobs in communities across the country. This seven-month authorizations figure is the highest in the Bank's history.

For more information, visit Ex-Im Bank's Web site at www.exim.gov.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States