News

WASHINGTON - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed today participated in a webinar with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry in conjunction with World Trade Month, outlining crucial export finance assistance available during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.

The presentation focused on COVID-19 relief measures designed to help small businesses protect sales and improve liquidity. Others participating in the webinar were Glenn Hamer, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Kevin O'Shea, Vice President for International Trade with the Arizona Commerce Authority; Juan Ciscomani, Senior Advisor to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Vice Chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission; and Sandra Donzella, Deputy Managing Director for EXIM's Western Region.

During the webinar for 107 participants, Chairman Reed explained how EXIM partners with commercial lenders and insurance brokers to deliver small-business financial solutions, including export credit insurance and working capital loan guarantees.

"When I visited Phoenix last year, I heard from 40 small businesses, financial institutions, and stakeholders at the Chamber and pledged EXIM's support to help Arizona exporters. I underscored this commitment again today. EXIM is providing a variety of COVID-19 relief measures to Arizona exporters to help them protect foreign sales, improve liquidity, and support Arizona jobs, both during this crisis and as our economy rebounds," said Chairman Reed. "Over the past decade, EXIM has supported $2.4 billion in Arizona exports, including $428 million in support to 106 Arizona small businesses. EXIM can help businesses not just recover from COVID-19, but also achieve their greatest successes ever in the days and years to come."

"EXIM's loan guarantees and export credit insurance have always been well positioned to assist American exporters in times of crisis," said Deputy Managing Director Donzella. "We play an important role in the activities of Arizona exporters and empower them to capture growth opportunities from foreign markets by leveraging EXIM's resources. We are here to offer support when risk mitigation and financing become important considerations, which in today's uncertain and challenging environment has become more relevant than ever."

The webinar was held in conjunction with World Trade Month 2020, an annual event aimed at recognizing the importance of exporting to the U.S. economy and encouraging U.S. businesses to begin or expand their export efforts. EXIM will take part in another World Trade Month event on May 19 to help fulfill its mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports.

Toya Woods, Business Development Specialist in EXIM's Office of Small Business, will join a webinar with the Women's Business Enterprise Council - West, a regional partner of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, the nation's largest certifier of women-owned businesses. That event will highlight EXIM financial solutions that can help small businesses succeed, particularly minority and women-owned businesses.

For more information, visit EXIM's World Trade Month webpage with information about growing U.S. exports in uncertain times.

On March 12, EXIM announced initial COVID-19 relief measures - waivers, deadline extensions, streamlined processing, and flexibility - for its working capital loan guarantee and export credit insurance programs to its customers, primarily U.S. small businesses, that now have been extended through May 31.

On March 25, EXIM's Board of Directors announced additional temporary relief measures. More information on these and other COVID-19-related response actions, along with helpful resources, are available on the EXIM Coronavirus Response webpage.

ABOUT EXIM:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt. 

For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.