About Us - Office of Financial Services Industries
The Office of Financial Services Industries seeks to enhance the domestic and international competitiveness of key U.S. financial services industries in order to increase their exports and investment overseas. Primary areas of focus for the Office of Financial Services Industries include insurance, securities, banking, venture capital, private equity, pensions and asset management, exchanges, mortgage and non-bank financing. The Office of Financial Services Industries also produces the Trade Finance Guide and serves as ITA's policy shop on Ex-Im Bank, OPIC, multilateral development banks, and other official finance issues. The work of the Office of Financial Services Industries is divided into two teams:
Financial Services Team
Conducts policy, advocacy and analysis to strengthen the domestic and international competitiveness of the U.S. financial services industry.
Leads several interagency efforts to address market access challenges facing the financial services industry in key emerging markets including China and Brazil.
Operates a global venture capital program for sharing best practices in venture development. Launched a venture capital pipeline initiative that aims to ensure the competitiveness of U.S. venture capital firms.
Creates and protects market access for financial services firms through policy development and participation in bilateral and multilateral negotiations in forums such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
Participates in U.S. bilateral free trade and Trade and Investment Framework agreement negotiations.
Leads the U.S. delegation to the OECD Insurance and Private Pensions Committee.
Conceived unique Virtual Research Partnership Agreement with Florida International University�s Chapman School of Business to help MAS address mission critical issues while introducing graduate students to the importance of public service.
Trade and Project Finance Team
Ex-Im Bank: Coordinates Commerce views, recommends positions, and prepares senior officials to convey Departmental views on financing proposals being considered at weekly meetings of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
OPIC: Coordinates Commerce views, recommends positions, and prepares the Deputy Secretary to vote on financing proposals being considered at quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment.
Multilateral development banks: Represents the Department at weekly meetings of the Working Group on Multilateral Aid, the Treasury-led interagency group that reviews multilateral development bank financing proposals.
OECD Export Credits: Represents Commerce on the U.S. delegation to official export credit financing negotiations hosted 3-4 times annually by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the forum in which the overall international framework governing the provision of official export credits provided by Ex-Im Bank and its foreign counterparts across critical industry sectors is negotiated.
Trade Finance: Responsible for publishing the Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters which serves as a useful finance resource for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
