28 Brokerage Firms Close Express Insurance Policies
Ex-Im Bank's new Express Insurance product has had a great start. Since its launch at our Annual Conference in late March, we have bound more than 75 policies supporting well over $35 million in authorizations for Ex-Im Bank. Over 90% of the new Express policies are brokered by 28 different brokerage firms. The most active Express broker has closed 9 policies. A couple of helpful reminders about Express:
- Express applicants must be SBA-small, have averaged less than $7.5 million in annual export credit sales over the past 3 years, and have less than 10 existing export credit buyers (excluding Canadian buyers and those sold to on letter of credit or other secure payment terms). However, there is no restriction on the size of the maximum policy payment limit (PPL). Our largest Express policy so far has a PPL of $3 million, and we encourage Express applications of this size (or larger). The requested PPL should take into account the total limit the exporter will need for the entire policy period.
- Exporters with more than 10 export credit buyers but wish to insure only one export buyer and have no intention to insure additional buyers, should apply for a single buyer (ESS) policy rather than Express Insurance.
No Minimum Annual Premium (MAP) for repeat Small Business Single Buyer (ESS) Policyholders
Exporters who meet SBA's definition of a small business and have at least one active ESS policy will not be subject to a MAP on their subsequent ESS policies. This change is effective immediately for all renewals and new applications. Any questions, please contact Arnold Chow arnold.chow@exim.gov or Amy Shinkman amy.shinkman@exim.gov.
REMINDER: All brokers were required to re-submit broker registration this summer. If you haven't done this yet,
please do so ASAP. The registration form
is here. |
No Automatic Renewal of Enhanced Assignments
Unlike the Standard Assignments, Enhanced Assignments (EA) have a defined effective and expiry date (usually tied to the policy period), as well as a maximum enhanced payment amount. In order to renew an EA, we require the exporter's most recent fiscal year-end financial statements and an updated foreign accounts receivable aging statement. Once the EA is approved for renewal, the EA lender and the policyholder must sign a new EA form in order for the EA to be effective for the new policy period. Please review the Short Term Credit Standards (PDF) for more details about the information required for an EA.
New Ex-Im Online Training Webinar Series
We are starting a new webinar training series for brokers and City/State partners on how to complete insurance applications on Ex-Im Online. Each month, we will demonstrate the application for one policy type, with each session lasting not more than 45 minutes. The first Webinar will be on September 21 at 11:30 am EST on the Express Application. All brokers will receive registration details by e-mail closer to the time; if you don't, please contact amy.shinkman@exim.gov.
| Michael K. Jackson joined the Small Business Group's marketing team in July and will be managing the Bank's relationships with City/State partners and trade associations. Michael was most recently with the Small Business Administration as a District International Trade Officer/Business Development Specialist in the Baltimore, MD, office. Gus Grace is now focused on training and Veterans outreach. |
September 14 Broker Training in DC
The next broker training is September 14, in Washington, D.C. All newly registered brokers, new joiners, or any brokers who would like to do more business with us are encouraged to attend. For those who attend the broker training, you are eligible to attend our "Financing Solutions for Lenders and Exporters" on September 12 and 13 at no additional charge. Register for DC Broker Training.
CLS Changes July 2011
A new Country Limitation Schedule was effective on July 28.
Based on the deteriorating country conditions, Ex-Im Bank's Board of Directors placed an administrative hold on Yemen, which is reflected by the addition of Notes #12 a and #12 b in the Country Limitation Schedule.
Senegal was opened for long-term transactions in the public sector. The change in cover policy is based on improvements in the country's external liquidity position and economic performance.
Changes in our Board
After four years on our Board of Directors, Diane Farrell's term expired this summer. Many of you know Diane and appreciated her advocacy for small business and insurance brokers during her time here.
Our new First Vice President and Vice Chair, Wanda Felton, has more than 20 years of investment banking and alternative investment advisory experience. Of interest, she began her career as a loan officer at Ex-Im Bank.
Sean Mulvaney is also new to our Board of Directors. Director Mulvaney has been the Assistant Administrator for Management the U.S. Agency for International Development, has 10 years of experience working on Capitol Hill, and has also worked in the private sector.
Two additional nominees to the board are pending Senate confirmation.
July 2011 Ex-Im Online Updates Summary
1) Ability to Process New SBCLs/IBCLs and Amendments After Renewal Kick-Off
For exporter-held multi-buyer and lender-held letter of credit (ELC) policies, Relationship Managers now have the ability to "suspend" one of their policy "work items" in order to process other requests which have been submitted in relation to the same policy.
For renewals, this means that Relationship Managers can process a subsequent policy amendment and/or a Special Buyer Credit Limit (SBCL)/Issuing Bank Credit Limit (IBCL) application, even after the renewal process has kicked-off. The Relationship Manager can see that a policy amendment and/or SBCL/IBCL request has come in, suspend the renewal, and process the policy amendment and/or SBCL/IBCL.
During the regular policy period, if both a policy amendment and an SBCL/IBCL application are submitted at the same time, the Relationship Manager can "suspend" one of the requests until the other is processed.
2) Search Portfolio Option Added to Broker Landing Page and Navigation Improvements
In the lower right-hand corner of the broker landing page, there is now a "Search Portfolio" link. You are able to view and search within, for example, all of your Applications, Policies, or SBCLs.
Also, the Policy Number within a Shipment Report is now a hyperlink back to Policy Details, and you can "Add Shipment" for a particular buyer from the In-Force SBCL section under Policy Details.
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