Related News

  • US Ex-Im Bank has approved the request of Investment Banking Group Nikoil (IBG Nikoil) of Moscow, Russia, for a US$10.7mn credit guarantee facility to finance separate purchases by Russian buyers of various US goods and services. It is expected that the facility will be used to fund purchases by current IBG Nikoil customers in various industry sectors, including agriculture, power and energy, and services. IBG Nikoil will act as the borrower and primary source of repayment.

    “Russia is a vital market for US exporters a fact that has been recognised by the President’s Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, which identified it as one of six key markets to focus on this year,” says Philip Merrill, chairman of Ex-Im. “Ex-Im Bank can be instrumental in helping US businesses win sales in Russia through our innovative financing and partnership programmes.”

    Earlier in March, Ex-Im also approved credit guarantee facilities with two of Russia’s largest banks. Vneshtorgbank received a US$50mn facility to support expected Russian purchases of various types of capital equipment and services. Sberbank received a US$10mn facility to support Russian purchases of Deere equipment.

    In January, Ex-Im authorised US$10mn in special delegated authority for Probusiness Bank that will support US exports by Deere & Company in the agricultural sector. In September, Ex-Im provided a US$4mn guarantee to Bank Avangard to help Russian buyers source oil-distillation equipment from Tyler Petrofac Inc.

    Ex-Im also approved during February the first transaction under a separate authorisation with DeltaLeasing, one of Russia’s most successful leasing companies, to establish a US$4mn credit facility to export capital equipment to small and medium-sized Russian businesses. This transaction provided a US$250,000 guarantee for the purchase of construction equipment from Clark Equipment Company and Vermeer Manufacturing Company. The authorisation with DeltaLeasing resulted from a memorandum of understanding signed by Ex-Im director Vanessa Weaver and DeltaLeasing’s president Nicolas Zinoviev in Moscow in October 2001 during a trade mission led by US secretary of commerce Donald Evans.

    In the past five years, Ex-Im has authorised more than US$1bn in export financing to support sales of US goods and services to Russia.