Ex-Im Bank chief Hochberg confirmed to second term

   The Senate has confirmed Fred P. Hochberg to a second term as chairman and president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
   “Over the past four years, Ex-Im Bank’s financing has supported nearly 1 million American jobs and helped thousands of small businesses expand their reach into international markets,” Hochberg said in a statement. “The bank also delivered more than $1 billion to the U.S. Treasury during this period at no cost to American taxpayers.”
   Under Hochberg’s leadership in fiscal year 2012, Ex-Im Bank for the fourth-straight year set export finance records in a number of key areas. Overall financing for the first time exceeded $35.8 billion in authorizations, which supported more than 255,000 American jobs. The bank worked with more than 3,400 U.S. companies, 85 percent of which were small businesses.
   The bank is also seeking new markets for U.S. goods and services in emerging economies with growing infrastructure needs, including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Nigeria and South Africa.
   Hochberg has worked to expand the global footprint of key domestic industries in which U.S. exporters have a comparative advantage. These include renewable energy, construction and farm machinery, medical technology, agriculture, and avionics. In addition, he is credited with streamlining processes, cutting transaction times and introducing innovative new financial products.
   From 2004 to 2008, Hochberg was dean of Milano, The New School for Management and Urban Policy in New York. From 1998 through 2001, he served as deputy, then acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), where he quadrupled lending to minority- and women-owned small businesses. Prior to his service at SBA, Hochberg was the long-time president and chief operating officer of the Lillian Vernon Corp.