US Ex-Im and OPIC brace for shutdown

(Trade Finance, 27 September 2013, Washington) The Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Ex-Im) and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) have published contingency plans in the event that Congress fails to agree to a continuing resolution to fund the US government. For OPIC, “commitments of new loans, loan guarantees, and political risk insurance will not take place during shutdown – not because of a hiatus in appropriations, per se , but because a temporary reauthorisation provision dependent on the appropriations process will lapse during the shutdown”. At US Ex-Im, new obligations as well as delegated authority to exporters and/or banks under insurance and guarantee programmes will be suspended. The bank will continue to process and deposit funds received, and will pay claims under its guarantee and insurance programme, which carry the full faith and credit of the US government. Of Ex-Im’s employees, 17 will be retained out of the total of 409 (4.1%) in addition to three contractors, three Presidential appointees, and 24 employees on an on-call status. Details of US Ex-Im’s plans can be found here, and OPIC’s here.

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