NCUA News Release

NCUA And Export-Import Bank of the US sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Washington, DC, September 23, 2005 – The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) signed a memorandum of cooperation focusing on strengthening financing support for America’s small businesses.

NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson and Ex-Im Bank Acting Chairman James Lambright signed the agreement at the Ex-Im headquarters in Washington.

Ex-Im Bank, the official export credit agency of the United States, is in its 71st year of helping finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance and direct loans. In fiscal year 2004, Ex-Im Bank supported $17.8 billion of U.S. exports to markets worldwide.

“The loan program guarantees available through the Ex-Im Bank are a great resource for the nation’s credit unions to assist their members’ small businesses, by facilitating additional access to capital and credit to expand and grow their small businesses,” said Chairman Johnson at the signing ceremony.

“Supporting growth of U.S. small business exports is one of Ex-Im Bank’s highest priorities,” Lambright said. “This agreement will enable us to reach out to more small businesses than we’ve ever had the ability to reach before. There are about 9,000 credit unions with 84 million members nationwide. A substantial portion of those members are small business owners.”

Ex-Im Bank does not compete with private sector lenders but provides export financing products that fill gaps in trade financing. The agency assumes credit and country risks that the private sector is unable or unwilling to accept. Also, Ex-Im Bank helps to level the playing field for U.S. exporters by matching the financing that other governments provide to their exporters.

Additionally, Ex-Im Bank provides working capital guarantees (pre-export financing); export credit insurance; and loan guarantees and direct loans (buyer financing). No transaction is too large or too small. On average, 85% of Ex-Im Bank transactions directly benefit U.S. small businesses.

For more information, visit: www.exim.gov.

The National Credit Union Administration charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the accounts of more than 84 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions.