The White House
President George W. Bush
Print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 13, 2001

Export-Import Bank of the United States in Russia Fact Sheet
Export-Import Bank of the United States in Russia

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has been actively pursuing financing opportunities in the Russian Federation since opening for business over a decade ago.  Russia is a strategic market for American firms, particularly for small- and medium-sized companies.  Ex-Im has been working to expand the scope of its financing activities to take advantage of Russia's current economic expansion and growth.  Today, Ex-Im Bank has an outstanding portfolio of over $2 billion in sectors ranging from aircraft to health care to mining, and a pipeline of pending projects equivalent to $750 million.

One of the most successful programs initiated by the Bank has been the Oil and Gas Framework Agreement (OGFA), signed in 1993.  Under its aegis, Ex-Im Bank has financed over $1 billion in exports of goods and services to Russian oil and gas companies.

Since December 2000, Ex-Im Bank has worked with 15 Russian commercial banks as creditworthy partners to develop short- and medium-term projects.  These eligible banks included 11 private sector banks and several smaller regional banks.  It is anticipated that this number of partner banks will expand to 20 or more in the near term.

Since August 2000, Ex-Im Bank has had an active sub-sovereign program to work with cities, regions or provinces.  At the present time, 4 Russian sub-sovereigns qualify for the program:  The City of Moscow, the City of St. Petersburg, the Oblast of Samara and the Republic of Bashkortostan. Ex-Im Bank hopes to have the first transaction under this program, a $15 million project to modernize the lighting in the primary and secondary schools of the City of St. Petersburg, brought to the Board of Directors for final consideration within weeks.

Ex-Im is also working in other areas.  During the recent Trade Development Mission led by Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, Ex-Im Bank signed a general Memorandum of Understanding with DeltaLeasing, one of the most successful leasing companies today in Russia, to pursue the development of a leasing initiative.  This leasing initiative is designed to address the critical need for capital faced by Russian small- and medium-sized companies, the real engines for sustained growth in any economy.

# # #


Return to this article at:
/news/releases/2001/11/text/20011113-13.html

Print this document