Ex-Im Bank Releases 2014 Annual Report

On Dec. 17, 2014 Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) Chairman Fred P. Hochberg announced the release of Ex-Im Bank’s 2014 Annual Report. The report includes some key statistics for fiscal year (FY) 2014, the Bank’s FY 2014 Financial Report, updates on key programs and initiatives as well as stories of Ex-Im Bank customers.

As the official export credit agency of the U.S., Ex-Im Bank is a self-sustaining federal agency that helps finance American exports of manufactured goods and services primarily in circumstances when alternative financing is not available. Ex-Im helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. By providing a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees and export credit insurance, Ex-Im Bank levels the playing field so that U.S. small businesses can compete in the global marketplace.

The following are some highlights from the report.

• Ex-Im Bank supported 164,000 American jobs in FY 2014.
• About 90 percent of transactions directly supported U.S. small businesses.
• Supported $27.5 billion in exports at no cost to American taxpayers.
• Supported $10.7 billion in exports from U.S. small businesses.

• 545 U.S. small businesses were first-time users of Ex-Im Bank products. Nearly half of the small business authorizations—over 1,600 out of more than 3,300—involved authorized amounts under $500,000.

• Maintained a historically low default rate of 0.175% as of the end of FY 2014.
• Nearly $14 billion – more than 68 percent – of Ex-Im Bank reauthorizations supported U.S. exports to emerging markets, where commercial banks are often more reluctant to lend.
• In October, Ex-Im announced that it transferred $675 million in deficit-reducing receipts to the U.S. Treasury’s General Fund for FY 2014. In each of the last two years Ex-Im Bank sent nearly $1 billion to the U.S. Treasury, and over the last two decades, Ex-Im Bank has generated a surplus of more than $7 billion for U.S. taxpayers.

The Bank operates under a renewable charter – it was last reauthorized in September, extending its current charter through June 30, 2015. Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) has a draft five-year Ex-Im reauthorization bill that he intends to introduce in early January. The 31 reforms the bill would impose on the Bank include a proposed reduction of the institution’s lending cap from $140 billion to $130 billion and an increase in reporting requirements. The measure would also require an independent audit of the Bank’s activities and create a more clearly defined role for the chief risk officer.

NSBA, and its international trade arm, the Small Business Exporters Association (SBEA), are actively lobbying Congress to enact a longer renewal of Ex-Im Bank’s charter, such as four to five years, to enhance the Bank’s long-term planning and provide more assurance to small businesses involved in Ex-Im-supported transactions.

NSBA and SBEA encourage small-business owners to voice their support for Ex-Im to their members of Congress through letters.