Ex-Im Back In Trade Finance Business — Sort Of

The U.S. Export-Import Bank, often referred to as Ex-Im, is back in the game. Well, sort of.

The federal trade finance body, which provides overseas buyers with financing to fuel business for U.S. conglomerates like Boeing and General Electric, got Congress’ vote on Thursday (Dec. 3) for a revival after several months of halted operations at the end of its funding cycle.

The bank, however, still cannot issue large loans, Bloomberg reports said Friday (Dec. 4). At present, Ex-Im can provide up to $10 million in funding to overseas buyers.

[bctt tweet=”The Export-Import bank still cannot issue large loans.”]

The lapse is due to unfilled slots on its board of directors, reports said, and means the largest dependents on Ex-Im (the aforementioned conglomerates) are still unable to benefit from its financing. The Senate must now confirm a new board member, according to reports.

President Barack Obama has nominated Patricia Loui-Schmicker, who has already served on the bank’s board, for a second term. While that nomination occurred in March, reports said the Senate has not yet held a hearing on the nomination.

“This has been a long battle, and to really put the Ex-Im Bank back in business, we need to have a board in place,” explained Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) in an interview with Bloomberg in Washington late last week.

Bloomberg said that both the House and the Senate “overwhelmingly” voted in favor of reviving Ex-Im but noted some Republican officials were against renewing its funding, claiming the bank is mostly beneficial to large corporations that don’t need government assistance.

The Export-Import Bank saw its charter lapse at the end of last June. While the bank remained functional, it could not issue any additional loans. The saga has led to a rift among politicians and has resulted in outcry from manufacturers.

Last August, the National Association of Manufacturers announced that it would cease all presidential fundraising activity and instead focus its attention on the reinstatement of Ex-Im operations.