Export-Import Bank of the United States

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank’s mission is to assist in the financing of the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets. Ex-Im Bank provides working capital guarantees (pre-export financing); export credit insurance; and loan guarantees and direct loans (buyer financing).

Ex-Im Bank was created during the Great Depression to promote U.S. trade by supplementing, but not competing with, private sources of finance. The bank's traditional role was to finance U.S. exports to buyers in countries that the private sector considered too risky. However, as the global economy has evolved and the reach of private finance has expanded, some critics have come to question the necessity of Ex-Im Bank. Supporters contend, conversely, that Ex-Im Bank continues to be an important resource for helping U.S. exporters compete in a global marketplace against companies that are financed, and sometimes subsidized, by foreign export credit agencies. To meet the challenge presented by its foreign counterparts, Ex-Im Bank has worked within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to develop a common set of rules to govern export finance; its efforts have met with some success but uneven practices remain. Against this backdrop, Ex-Im Bank faces questions about the types and sizes of U.S. companies it most often supports and whether its business mix needs to change.