EXPORT-IMPORT BANK CHAIRMAN SAYS NEW AUTHROIZATIONS UP 75 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTER

FROM:  EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Fred Hochberg, Chairman Export-Import Bank
Message from the Chairman
What a quarter!
New authorizations here at the Export Import Bank were up by 75 percent over last year’s first quarter. They reached $7.45 billion in the first quarter (October-December) of fiscal year 2013 – supporting approximately 57,000 U.S. jobs – compared to $4.3 billion a year earlier.

The top industry sector was infrastructure with concentrations in manufacturing, aircraft, information and communications service providers, and power projects. The top destination markets for this quarter were India, Germany, Russia, and Poland.

Also during the first quarter, we hit a new record of 43 percent growth of authorizations for working capital and credit insurance for minority- and women- owned exporters, coming on the heels of a record breaking 2012. The amount authorized for small business was almost $1.2 million. This is a 49 percent increase from the first quarter in 2012, putting Ex-Im Bank on track for another strong year for small business.

The results show that our record-breaking levels of authorizations are gathering momentum. We did this the old-fashioned way – superior customer service and sharp focus on emerging opportunities. But the real credit belongs to American exporters with their innovative, high-quality U.S. products and services that carry the label, "Made in USA."

Comments from several of these exporters square with these numbers.

For example, Charlie Szews of the Oshkosh Corp. shared with me that he expects his company’s exports to increase by double digits in 2013. The reason, he notes, is "our competitive advantage largely related to our advanced technologies." Randy Zwirn of Siemens, he tells me, saw his exports shifting toward emerging markets like Nigeria, Vietnam and Chile making new investments in needed infrastructure projects. I heard similar upbeat reports from Caterpillar and Dow Chemical.

Besides redoubling current efforts, we’re aiming for new record results with a stronger focus on these priorities:

Infrastructure Financing offers tremendous opportunities in emerging countries from southern Africa and South Asia to Latin America. India alone expects to spend a trillion dollars in the next five years for highways, seaports, electricity, and satellites. These require long-term financing, which Ex-Im is positioned to provide. I’m on my way to India at the end of January to explore financing opportunities there.

Small Business financing has grown strongly, but we intend to do much better. By adding four new regional offices last year, we now have 11 around the country – to recruit and train small businesses and financers. Our goal is that at least 20 percent of new authorizations will go to small businesses each year.

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most promising markets for U.S. exports, and we will do our part to expand here. We approved a record $1.5 billion of authorizations last year for this region, financing about seven percent of all U.S. exports there. Transactions there ranged from the sale of Boeing 787s to Ethiopian Airlines and Darley fire-fighting equipment in Nigeria. With strong growth continuing in most countries there, the possibilities are dazzling.

Customer Service will get even more attention as we continue to expand financing and numbers of new customers, with no increase in Ex-Im Bank staff. With help from our Total Enterprise Modernization project, we are streamlining even more our application, approval and disbursement systems, and empowering staff to make even more key decisions using their professional judgment. Already, we processed 90 percent of all transaction in 300 days or less – and 98 percent in less than 100 days.