U.S., Japan banks enter export co-financing agreement

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) on Wednesday signed a co-financing agreement that will facilitate future export transactions involving companies in both the United States and Japan.
   The agreement enables Ex-Im Bank and JBIC to provide “one-stop-shop” export finance services to buyers in third countries purchasing both U.S. and Japanese goods and services. This agreement complements one signed in 2004 between Ex-Im Bank and Japan’s Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).
   “This arrangement paves the way for Ex-Im Bank and JBIC to co-finance projects, enabling exporters in both the U.S. and Japan to select the best mix of price and technology to strengthen their overseas bids and support jobs,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg, in a statement. “At the same time, exporters will be able to provide their buyers with only one set of terms and conditions covering both countries’ exports.”
   JBIC is a policy-based financial institution, and conducts lending, investment and guarantee operations while complementing Japan’s private sector financial institutions.
   This is the first one-stop shop co-financing agreement signed by JBIC with another national export credit agency.
   In addition to the JBIC and NEXI co-financing agreements, Ex-Im Bank has signed similar agreements with ASHR’A (Israel), Atradius (The Netherlands), Coface (France), ECGD (United Kingdom), EDC (Canada), EFIC (Australia), EKF (Denmark), Euler Hermes (Germany), and SACE (Italy) and is in discussions with other export credit agencies to sign additional bilateral agreements.
   Ex-Im Bank will also consider co-financing transactions without a formal bilateral agreement on a case-by-case basis. It has concluded a number of one-off co-financing arrangements with GIEK (Norway), H-EXIM (Hungary) and ONDD (Belgium).