BBVA, Wells Fargo Ex-Im Bank-approved lenders

BBVA, Wells Fargo Ex-Im Bank-approved lenders    The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. and Wells Fargo Bank as eligible lenders under its Medium-Term Delegated Authority (MTDA) Program.
   As MTDA lenders, these banks can increase use, and speed approval, of Ex-Im Bank medium-term guarantees which support commercial loans for foreign buyers of U.S. capital goods such as machinery and equipment. The program is available to both large and small U.S. exporters.
   “The appeal of the MTDA program is growing, and we encourage more lending institutions to join,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg.
   “We are confident that BBVA, with our vast presence in the Sunbelt region of the USA and our extensive network in Latin America, will make good use of this vote of confidence by Ex-Im Bank and will help achieve the export needs of our American clients,” added Nick Shaw, BBVA's head of structured trade finance.
   Hochberg noted that MTDA lender Northstar Trade Finance in Houston has approved 14 transactions under the program. A $10 million medium-term Northstar transaction with Chinook Sciences LLC of Cranford, N.J., enabled this small business to sell equipment and technology to Turkey to build a plant that recycles metal and in the process recovers gas and produces electricity.
   Under the MTDA program, approved lenders have delegated authority to underwrite and authorize Ex-Im Bank-guaranteed medium-term transactions without prior Ex-Im Bank review and approval. In each transaction, the lender will be required to share the credit risk by retaining 10 percent of the commercial risk but will also retain 10 percent of the Ex-Im Bank exposure fee for large business transactions. Transactions involving small-business exporters or small-business suppliers will be eligible for increased Ex-Im Bank risk coverage, and the lender’s commercial-risk retention will be reduced to 8 percent.
   Loans approved under the program may have repayment terms of two to five years, Ex-Im Bank said. Transactions requiring a higher degree of specialized judgment, such as those involving complex financing, environmental or economic-impact analysis, may be excluded. Excluded transactions may be submitted for consideration under Ex-Im Bank’s standard medium-term guarantee program.