Established in 1934 by an executive order and then made an independent agency in the Executive Branch by Congress in 1945, the Export-Import Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States whose mission is to assist in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets. In 2011 alone, Ex-Im financed approximately $32 billion in U.S. exports, sustaining 290,000 American jobs. Because of the fees and interest it charges borrowers, Ex-Im is a self-sustaining entity which, since 2005, has returned a profit to the U.S. Treasury.
On May 15, 2012, Congress passed the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 (H.R. 2072), which extends Ex-Im’s authority for an additional three years and, by 2014, will raise the bank’s credit exposure ceiling from $100 billion to $140 billion. President Obama is expected to sign the Act into law before May 31, 2012, when the bank’s charter is scheduled to expire.
To learn more about this, click here to read the client alert that was written by Jessica R. Berenyi.