The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and its Japanese counterpart, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), have signed a co-financing agreement that will facilitate export transactions involving companies in both the United States and Japan. Ex-Im Bank Chairman Philip Merrill and NEXI Chairman and CEO Hidehiro Konno signed the agreement at a ceremony at Ex-Im Bank headquarters.
The agreement will enable Ex-Im Bank and NEXI to provide "one-stop" trade-finance services to buyers in third countries purchasing both US and Japanese goods and services. The two nations' export credit agencies (ECAs) will share risk under one financing package, creating administrative efficiencies for foreign buyers.
"Complex international transactions often involve the procurement of goods and services from multiple countries," Merrill said. "This partnership between Ex-Im Bank and NEXI will benefit businesses and workers in both the United States and Japan by enabling them to compete more effectively in high-value, multi-source transactions."
"Business partnerships between Japanese companies and their US counterparts have been expanding steadily in various sectors," said Konno. "I am pleased that NEXI and Ex-Im Bank are now ready to meet the increasing demand by efficiently financing joint business activities of companies of the two countries."
This is the fourth co-financing agreement that Ex-Im Bank has concluded. The Bank's first three agreements were with the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) of the United Kingdom, the Export Development Corporation (EDC) of Canada, and Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (SACE) of Italy. NEXI has concluded co-financing agreements with seven other ECAs, namely SACE, Office National du Ducroire/ Nationale Delcrederedienst (OND) of Belgium, Atradius of the Netherlands, Hermes Kreditversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft (Hermes) of Germany, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft (OeKB) of Austria, Compagnie Francaise d'Assurance pour le Commerce Exterieur (Coface) of France, and Export Credit Insurance Corporation of Singapore Ltd. ECICS).
NEXI is a Japanese independent administrative institution established in April 2001 to succeed the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of the Japanese Government in providing trade and investment insurance services. Since its establishment NEXI has been committed to customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and administrative transparency. In fiscal year 2003 its underwritings reached 11.1 trillion yen.
Ex-Im Bank this year marks its 70th year of helping finance the sale of US exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and direct loans. In fiscal year 2003, Ex-Im Bank, an independent federal agency, authorized financing to support $14.3 billion of US exports worldwide.
