The Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the official export credit agency (ECA) of the United States federal government. Operating as a wholly owned federal government corporation, the bank "assists in financing and facilitating U.S. exports of goods and services", particularly when private sector lenders are unable or unwilling to provide financing. Its current chairman and president, John Jovanovic took office as chair and president on September 19, 2025.
The Export–Import Bank was established in 1934 as the Export-Import Bank of Washington by an executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its stated goal was "to aid in financing and to facilitate exports and imports and the exchange of commodities between the United States and other Nations or the agencies or nationals thereof." The bank's first transaction was a $3.8 million loan to Cuba in 1935 for the purchase of U.S. silver ingots. In 1945, it was made an independent agency within the executive branch by the United States Congress.
Under federal law, the EXIM must be reauthorized by Congress every four to five years. Following a brief lapse in Congressional authorization on July 1, 2015, which became Public Law 112-122 on May 30, 2012.House Joint Resolution 124, which became Public Law No: 113-164 on September 19, 2014. which prevented the bank from engaging in new business, it was reauthorized through September 2019 via the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of December 2015. In December 2019, President Donald Trump signed the Export-Import Bank Extension into law as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, which authorized the bank until December 31, 2026.
Over its lifetime, the Export-Import Bank has helped finance several historic projects including the Pan-American Highway, the Burma Road, and post-World War II reconstruction. While supporters argue that the bank allows small and medium-sized businesses to participate in the global market, critics allege that it shows favoritism to large corporations and special interests.
Overview
The Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is a government agency that provides a variety of tools intended to aid the export of American goods and services. The mission of the Bank is to create and sustain U.S. jobs by financing sales of U.S. exports to international buyers. EXIM equips U.S. exporters and their customers with tools such as buyer financing, export credit insurance, and access to working capital. Second, when U.S. exporters face foreign competition backed by other governments, EXIM provides buyer financing to match or counter the financing offered by almost 96 export credit agencies (ECAs) around the world.
The Bank is chartered as a government corporation by the Congress of the United States. The Charter details the Bank's authorities and limitations. Among them is the principle that EXIM does not compete with private sector lenders, but rather provides financing for transactions that would otherwise not occur because commercial lenders are either unable or unwilling to accept the political or commercial risk inherent in the deal.
The EXIM's products are intended to assist export sales for any American export company regardless of size. The bank's charter provides that EXIM makes available "not less than 20%" of its lending authority to small businesses although they have often fallen short of the 20% threshold. In fiscal year 2013 however, 76% of the value of loans and guarantees went to the top 10 recipients.
Similar banks, known generally as export credit agencies (ECAs), are operated by 60 foreign countries. As the United States is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) they conduct their activities by obeying OECD rules and principles. The goal is to permit exporters in various countries to compete on the basis of the quality of their goods and services, not on preferential financing terms. ECAs of countries which are not participants of the OECD, such as the China Exim Bank are not required by their governments to follow OECD rules.
Leadership The board of directors of the Export–Import Bank of the United States includes five members. The president of the bank serves as chairman, and the first vice president serves as vice chairman. The remaining three members are appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate. No more than three members may belong to the same political party. At least one member must be chosen from the small business community. Directors serve staggered four-year terms and may remain in office after their term expires until a successor is appointed, but not for more than six additional months.
The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Commerce shall serve, ex officio and without vote, as additional members of the Board of Directors of the Bank.
Board of Directors The current board members : Position Name Party Took office Term expiration President and Chair Republican Vice President and Vice Chair Member Republican Member Vacant Member Vacant Secretary of Commerceex officio (non-voting) Republican U.S. Trade Representativeex officio (non-voting) Republican
Nominations President Trump has nominated the following to fill seats on the board. They await Senate confirmation. Position Name Party Term expires Replacing Vice President and Vice Chair Republican Member Republican Member Republican Reappointment
R. Walton Moore, (chairman) 1934–1941 George N. Peek, (President) 1934–1935 R. Walton Moore, (chairman) 1934–1941 Warren Lee Pierson, (President) 1936–1945 Wayne Chatfield-Taylor, (President) 1945 Jesse H. Jones, (chairman) 1941–1943 Leo T. Crowley, (chairman) 1943–1945 William McC. Martin, Jr., (chairman) 1946–1949 Herbert E. Gaston, (chairman) 1949–1953 Glen E. Edgerton, (chairman) 1953–1953 Glen E. Edgerton, (chairman) 1954–1955 Lynn U. Strambaugh, (Vice Chairman) 1954–1960 Samuel C. Waugh, (chairman) 1955–1961 Tom Killefer, (Vice Chairman) 1960–1962 Harold F. Linder, (chairman) 1961–1968 Walter C. Sauer, (Vice Chairman) 1962–1976 Henry Kearns, (chairman) 1969–1973 William J. Casey, (chairman) 1974–1976 Stephen M. DuBrul Jr., (chairman) 1976–1977 Delio E. Gianturco, (Vice Chairman) 1976–1977 John L. Moore, Jr., (chairman) 1977–1981 H. K. Allen, (Vice Chairman) 1978–1981 William H. Draper III, (chairman) 1981–1986 Charles E. Lord, (Vice Chairman) 1982–1983 John A. Bohn Jr., (Vice Chairman) 1984–1986 John A. Bohn Jr., (chairman) 1986–1989 William F. Ryan, (Vice Chairman) 1986–1989 John D. Macomber, (chairman) 1989–1992 Eugene K. Lawson, (Vice Chairman) 1989–1993 Rita M. Rodriguez, (Acting Chairman) 1993–1993 Kenneth D. Brody, (chairman) 1993–1995 Martin A. Kamarck, (Vice Chairman) 1993–1996 Martin A. Kamarck, (chairman) 1996–1997 Rita M. Rodriguez, (Acting Chairman) 1997–1997 James A. Harmon, (chairman) 1997–2001 Jackie M. Clegg, (Vice Chairman) 1997–2001 John E. Robson, (chairman) 2001–2002 Eduardo Aguirre, (Vice Chairman) 2001–2003 Philip Merrill, (chairman) 2002–2005 April Foley, (Vice Chairman) 2003–2005 James H. Lambright, (chairman) 2005–2009 Linda M. Conlin, (Vice Chairman 2006–2009) Wanda Felton, (Vice Chairman) 2011–2013, 2014–2016 John A. McAdams, (Acting Vice Chairman) 2013 Fred P. Hochberg, (chairman) 2009–2017 Charles J. Hall, (Acting Vice Chairman) 2016–2017 (Acting Chairman) 2017 Scott Schloegel, (Acting Vice Chairman) 2017–2019 Jeffrey Gerrish, (Acting Chairman) 2018–2019 Kimberly A. Reed, (chairman) 2019–2021 James G. Burrows Jr., (Acting Chairman) 2021–2022 Reta Jo Lewis, (chairman) 2022–2025 Spencer Bachus, (Acting Chairman) 2025 John Jovanovic, (chairman) 2025–
William McC. Martin, Jr. 1945–1946 Clarence E. Gauss 1946–1952 Wilson L. Townsend 1952–1953 Hawthorne Arey 1949–1953 Hawthorne Arey 1954–1961 George A. Blowers 1954–1961 Vance Brand 1954–1959 James S. Bush 1959–1963 George Docking 1961–1964 Charles M. Meriwether 1961–1965 Elizabeth S. May 1964–1969 Hobart Taylor, Jr. 1965–1968 Tom Lilley 1965–1972 John C. Clark 1969–1976 R. Alex McCullough 1969–1977 Mitchell P. Kobelinski 1973–1976 Margaret W. Kahliff 1976–1982 Donald E. Stingel 1977–1981 Thibaut de Saint Phalle 1977–1981 Richard W. Heldridge 1982–1988 Rita M. Rodriguez 1982–1999 James E. Yonge 1982–1984 Richard H. Hughes 1985–1985 Simon C. Fireman 1986–1989 Richard Houseworth 1988–1991 Constance B. Harriman 1991–1994 Cecil B. Thompson 1991–1994 Maria Luisa Haley 1994–1999 Julie Belaga 1994–1999 Dan Renberg 1999–2003 Dorian Vanessa Weaver 1999–2003 Max Cleland 2003–2007 Linda M. Conlin 2004–2006 J. Joseph Grandmaison 2006–2009 Bijan R. Kian 2006–2011 Diane Farrell 2007–2011 Larry Walther 2011–2013 Wanda Felton 2011–2013, 2014–2016 Fred P. Hochberg 2009–2017 Sean Robert Mulvaney 2011–2015 Patricia M. Loui 2011–2015 Charles J. Hall 2016–2017
History Early history (1934–1944) The Export–Import Bank was originally established as a District of Columbia banking corporation by Executive Order 6581, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 2, 1934. It was initially named the Export–Import Bank of Washington. The stated goal was "to aid in financing and to facilitate exports and imports and the exchange of commodities between the United States and other Nations or the agencies or nationals thereof", with the immediate goal of making loans to the USSR and Latin America. Roosevelt created a Second Export–Import Bank of Washington with Executive Order 6638 on March 9, 1934, with the specific goal of aiding trade with Cuba.s:Author:Franklin Delano Roosevelt/Executive orders The Bank's first transaction was a $3.8 million loan to Cuba in 1935 for the purchase of U.S. silver ingots. The First and Second Export–Import Banks were combined in 1936 when Congress transferred the obligations of the Second Export–Import Bank to the first.
Independent agency (since 1945) Congress made the bank an independent agency on July 31, 1945, with the Export–Import Bank Act of 1945. On March 13, 1968, further legislation changed the name to "Export–Import Bank of the United States". EXIM became a self-sustaining (self-funding) agency in 2007, though the loans remain backed by the government.
The Government Corporation Control Act of 1945 requires the Bank to be reauthorized by Congress every four to five years. Reauthorizations have been approved several times:
Bill name Date signed into law Bank authorized untilDecember 20, 2006May 30, 2012May 30, 2012September 30, 2014 September 19, 2014 June 30, 2015 December 4, 2015 September 30, 2019 December 20, 2019December 31, 2026 It was last chartered for a three-year term in 2012 and in September 2014 was extended through June 30, 2015. Congressional authorization for the bank lapsed as of July 1, 2015. As a result, the bank could not engage in new business, but it continued to manage its existing loan portfolio. Five months later, after the successful employment of the rarely used discharge petition procedure in the House of Representatives, Congress reauthorized the bank until September 2019 via the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act signed into law on December 4, 2015, by President Barack Obama. In December 2019, President Donald Trump signed the Export-Import Bank Extension into law as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116–94) which authorized the bank until December 31, 2026.
EXIM institution the China and Transformational Exports program in an effort to assist American exporters in competing with Chinese companies and to maintain American advantages in specified industries.
Projects Pan-American Highway