The US Export-Import Bank provided $35.8 billion in financing to support US exports in the 2012 budget year that ended on Sep 30, setting a record for the fourth consecutive year, the bank's president said on Thursday in an interview.
In addition, "while it's a little early to make a prediction on 2013 ... I would say in talking to exporters, I've seen a little more optimism about global export prospects than six months ago," Ex-Im President Fred Hochberg said.
The lingering effects of the global financial crisis, which dried up private sector sources of credit, continues to increase demand for Ex-Im Bank financing, particularly for long-term loans of 10 years or more, he said.
The bank provides direct loans, credit guarantees and other types of financing to help US exporters make sales. Big projects in the past year include $2 billion in financing for construction of a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates and more than $1.2 billion in financing for US satellite exports to Mexico and Australia.
Another factor driving demand for the bank's financing is the overall rise in US exports, which now exceed $2 trillion on an annual basis, Hochberg said, previewing the bank's annual report which is in the final stages of being cleared for release.
President Barack Obama has set a goal of doubling exports to about $3 trillion by the end of 2014.
Demand for US satellite technology and construction equipment and related services for big infrastructure projects should remain strong in the year ahead, Hochberg said.
Hochberg, who is seen as a possible Commerce Secretary during Obama's second term, said he loved his current job and hoped to continue working for the president.
He said he was "very supportive" of Obama's proposal to re-organise the Ex-Im Bank, the US Trade Representative's office and other trade agencies into a new one-stop shop for exporters.
"I think that's all part of the large fiscal cliff" talks, Hochberg said, referring to negotiations between the administration and Congress on how to handle automatic tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to occur on January 1.
Key members of Congress oppose the reorganisation plan, especially because it would subsume USTR into a larger bureaucracy. They believe the president's trade negotiators and attorneys should remain in a separate Cabinet-level office.
Congress renewed the 80-year-old Ex-Im Bank's charter this year after a tough fight in which many conservative Republicans questioned whether it was appropriate for the government to be involved in financing exports.
It's possible both US exporters and the bank lost business to other suppliers because of the uncertainty caused by the protracted congressional debate, Hochberg said.
But most importantly, Congress raised the bank's lending cap to $140 billion, from $100 billion previously, and extended its charter through September 2014, Hochberg said.
"That sends a strong signal" the United States will continue to help its exporters compete, he said.
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