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Senate Confirms Export-Import Bank Nominees
The agency has lacked a quorum on its board of directors since 2015, hampering its ability to approve transactions.
On May 8, the Senate approved three new board members for the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), the official export credit agency (ECA) of the US. The agency has lacked a quorum of three members on its board of directors since December 2015 and has been unable to approve transactions greater than $10 million. This has hampered the ability of US exporters of capital goods and related equipment to offer competitive long-term financing solutions to foreign buyers, rendering them less competitive against other foreign suppliers that can leverage their own ECAs.
The absence of a functioning board has resulted in a backlog of nearly $40 billion in financing requests, primarily long-term guaranteed loans to foreign buyers. Ex-Im is now tasked with approving the backlog of deals in its pipeline and evaluating future opportunities with US exporters. The Ex-Im Bank’s existing charter is valid until Sept. 30, 2019—at which time Congress will again review its status.
J.P. Morgan is one of the Ex-Im Bank’s most active lenders—and often its largest. Throughout this period of limited operations, we have continued to support the Ex-Im Working Capital Guarantee Program, which provides pre-export working capital to US exporters, as well as the Long-Term Buyer Financing Program, which offers long-term financing to foreign buyers of capital goods and related services.
Working with the Ex-Im’s suite of financing and risk-mitigation solutions, J.P. Morgan could help support your company’s global sales efforts. Contact us to discuss how our Ex-Im programs may enhance your international sales and make your company more competitive in the global marketplace.
