The debate over the future of US Exim has been kicked into touch until at least the middle of next year, as the US Senate passes a nine-month extension of the bank’s charter.

The charter was set to expire on September 30, before legislators in the House of Representatives extended it to June 2015 as part of its government funding bill this week.

In a statement, US Exim president Fred Hochberg says that he aims to make a further deal, securing the bank’s future. “Businesses don’t pursue overseas sales, invest in their operations, or hire new employees on a month-to-month basis,” he says. “Similarly, quality American goods shouldn’t lose out to aggressive foreign competitors because of the US Exim’s uncertain future.”

“I look forward to working with Congress on the passage of a long-term reauthorisation of the bank in order to bring certainty to Americans whose jobs depend on a level playing field for US goods and services. I’m confident that together we can find a long-term solution. Small businesses and workers in communities across America are counting on it,” he adds.

Signalling the increasingly political nature of the debate surrounding the bank’s future, supporters of US Exim have reportedly formed ‘Americans for the Exim Bank’, a super political action committee (PAC) that could raise the bank’s profile and counter the efforts of its political opponents heading towards the mid-term elections in November.