Export finance is being reshaped, with untied solutions, critical mineral initiatives and blended structures moving to the fore. Bank of America’s Pat Gang, head of export and agency finance, shares how the bank is helping shape this transformation and why borrowers and investors are responding to the change.
For decades, export credit agencies (ECAs) have underpinned international trade, enabling buyers to access financing so that exporters can compete globally. That mission remains, but the tools and ambitions are shifting. Innovation is pushing ECAs beyond transactional support towards an industrial strategy.
“Innovation is happening and it’s happening at pace,” says Pat Gang, head of export and agency finance at Bank of America. “The question ECAs are asking themselves is no longer just how to support exports today, but how to nurture our exporters of the future.”
Domestic programmmes, untied products, new financing entities and blended structures are reshaping the market as borrowers seek speed and strategy over invoice-by-invoice support.
Seeding tomorrow’s exporters
The roots of this shift lie in recognising that export finance can do more than enable transactions; it can drive industrial strategy. Traditional buyer financing still matters, but ECAs are now deploying balance sheets much earlier in the corporate lifecycle.
“Many ECAs, including the Export-Import Bank of the US and its European peers, are rolling out domestic financing programmes,” explains Gang. “If you’re going to invest and build a factory, they want to be there to support it. That’s a huge shift, because it creates the conditions for exports before a single shipment leaves the country.”
For governments, the case is clear: manufacturing jobs, technology clusters and supply chain resilience are strategic priorities. Backing investment at the outset locks in those benefits. For corporates, the appeal lies in competitively priced strategic capital that is tailored to a specific investment. Clean energy, infrastructure, defence and critical minerals are prominent in policy, with ECAs responding through flexible untied programmes.
Critical minerals take centre stage
Few areas illustrate the change more clearly than critical minerals. Lithium, cobalt, copper and rare earths are now as central to policy as energy security. “We’re seeing ECAs very willing to support these projects, and the conversations are happening very early in the investment decision cycle,” notes Gang.
Instead of being asked which suppliers will provide capex-related equipment, developers are being asked who they will sell to. Offtake contracts, essentially long-term agreements with buyers that secure future sales, can now unlock government-backed support at an early stage.
“That gives critical mineral or key product suppliers real leverage,” says Gang. “If they can demonstrate a logical path for concentrated offtake to a key country, it can drive funding into their project. We’re actively bringing ECAs and DFIs into those conversations because governments view these supply chains as national priorities.”
This extends well beyond battery minerals. Copper, essential for power transmission, and other core inputs are now in scope. ECAs are ready to support projects that underpin industrial competitiveness and energy transition, with forward-looking banks brokering those early-stage connections.
New players, new tools
As the agenda widens, so does the line-up of institutions delivering it. Policy banks, sovereign wealth funds, and other government-backed entities are stepping in, often with a mandate to act more quickly than ECAs.
“The expeditious nature of these entities has been viewed very favourably,” says Gang. “They can channel government priorities into the market quickly, whether that’s clean energy, critical minerals or defence.”
In the UK, for example, the new National Wealth Fund (NWF) has tens of billions earmarked for clean energy and strategic sectors.
Another instance is UK Export Development Guarantee (EDG) loans, launched before the pandemic, which experienced heavy initial demand and have since been expanded. “The additional support for EDG shows that the administration believes it’s working,” Gang says. “These programmes drive investment, support jobs and deliver returns to taxpayers.”
“It’s our job to deliver the full menu of debt options for clients,” Gang asserts. “We are agnostic about whether the support comes from an export credit agency, a multilateral development bank, or a government-backed wealth fund. The key is understanding how each programme aligns with our clients’ objectives.”
The NWF goes even further by directly financing strategic projects. Bank of America’s role in Iberdrola’s Scottish Power deal is a clear example of how public and private capital can be aligned.
The Iberdrola and Scottish Power blueprint
The Iberdrola deal centred on upgrades to interconnector infrastructure between Scotland and England, enabling more renewable energy to flow across the grid. It aligned with UK policy goals while giving Iberdrola attractive terms and investment certainty.
Bank of America acted as sole debt arranger, coordinator and bookrunner. “We worked closely with NWF to understand their mission statement and ensure this project aligns with their policy and makes the right impact on the UK’s energy transition story,” says Gang. “That’s how we view our role in the market: connecting clients with innovative sources of debt that align with both commercial and government policy objectives.”
The outcome was a £1.35bn debt package, raised for the benefit of Scottish Power, comprising £600mn from NWF and £900mn from private lenders. “We believe this is precisely what NWF was set up to do,” Gang emphasises.
Shifting borrower expectations
Innovation is equally visible in what corporates now expect. Untied solutions, which are not linked to specific national exports, break away from invoice-driven export contract links, offering more flexible support for investment and faster access to capital.
“The borrower market is absolutely focused on untied solutions,” says Gang. “They allow for more timely closes and more flexible terms. That’s hugely valuable to clients.”
The appeal is no longer limited to emerging markets. High-grade corporates are turning to ECA-backed financing because the structures are reliable and competitive. Governments, in turn, capture the jobs, investment and strategic outcomes they want.
“It’s about jobs and strategic industries,” Gang points out. “Clean energy, defence, critical minerals, high tech manufacturing – these are the sectors governments want to fight for.”
Another notable trend is the use of ECA programmes to support domestic investment that creates future export capacity. By financing new factories or greenfield projects, governments are effectively seeding tomorrow’s exporters.
If untied and domestic programmes are reshaping the front end of deals, blended finance is transforming their structure. Combining support from ECAs, development finance institutions, multilateral development banks and institutional investors is now standard.
“We pride ourselves on offering the full menu,” says Gang. “If there’s a government programme out there, we want our clients to know about it and understand the pros and cons.”
The road ahead for ECA innovation
The coming two years will be decisive. Offtake contract-driven structures, domestic programmes and untied solutions will be a large part of deal flow, demonstrating how far the industry has moved beyond transactional roots.
“We love the expansion of focusing on offtake contracts, something both the Korean and Japanese ECAs have done for some time,” says Gang. “We think domestic initiatives are going to deliver a lot of success. And more untied products are going to rule the day in terms of volumes.”
Alternative sources of capital will also be critical. “The bank market has functioned well for a long time, but we need to be ready to layer in institutional money where it makes sense and allow for bifurcation of risk,” Gang says.
The broader point is that ECAs are redefining their value. What began as incremental innovation is reshaping the entire landscape. “The fruits of that labour are ready to be rolled out,” Gang concludes. “Over the next 24 months, we’re going to see more and more interesting products come to market. And untied solutions will be at the heart of it.”
Together, these developments mark a turning point. Export finance is no longer a niche customer financing support mechanism but a strategic lever for industrial policy, investment and growth, one that will shape how the next generation of exporters comes to market.
