US EXIM products for export finance

US EXIM products are the financing and insurance instruments of the Export-Import Bank of the United States that support US exports through three core lines: export credit insurance, working capital loan guarantees, and medium and long term loan guarantees for foreign buyers of US goods and services.

US EXIM is the United States export credit agency. The Berne Union member directory lists it as US EXIMBANK, representing the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In bank and exporter documentation its products function as federal support instruments rather than as private market credit insurance written solely on commercial capital.

Medium and long term loan guarantees

EXIM loan guarantees assist US companies by guaranteeing financing extended to creditworthy foreign buyers for purchases of US capital goods and services, so the US exporter is paid at the time of shipment. Buyers in the private and public sectors can obtain competitive term financing from lenders when it would otherwise be unavailable, with terms generally up to 10 years. Finance leases can also be supported.

Published features include financing for international buyers of US capital goods and related services (not consumer goods), risk mitigation tied to a particular buyer, longer repayment terms, flexible lender financing options, and coverage of 100 percent of commercial and political risks on the guaranteed amount. EXIM's guarantee to the lender is unconditional and transferable. Local costs can be covered up to 40 or 50 percent, and ancillary items such as financial, legal or lender fees may be included.

EXIM provides an 85 percent guarantee on covered transactions, with a 15 percent down payment required from the buyer; principal and accrued interest are both included in the guaranteed amount. A guaranteed loan is funded by a commercial bank and guaranteed by EXIM, and it can be denominated in US dollars or other currencies at fixed or floating rates.

Eligibility turns on financing only US content under EXIM's content policy, country availability subject to the Country Limitation Schedule, restrictions on military or defense products and military buyers with limited exceptions, and shipment from the United States to a foreign buyer. There is no maximum limit on the size of an export sale that can be financed with a loan guarantee, though economic impact and environmental reviews apply to certain transactions.

Published costs include a letter of interest processing fee of 100 dollars, a preliminary commitment application fee of one tenth of 1 percent of the financed amount, a commitment fee of 0.125 percent on unused portions, an exposure fee based on risk, and an interest rate negotiated directly between lender and borrower.

This product line is the classic US buyer credit guarantee: the bank lends to the foreign buyer and holds an export credit guarantee from EXIM. Letters of interest and preliminary commitments are procedural steps ahead of a final guarantee commitment, each carrying its own published fee.

Export credit insurance

Export credit insurance covers exporters against commercial and political nonpayment risk after shipment, on agreed credit terms. EXIM states that cover can reach up to 95 percent of sales invoices. Policies can cover a single buyer, a selected group of buyers, or an entire export portfolio.

Insured foreign receivables are more likely to be included in an exporter's borrowing base, which improves liquidity. The product lets exporters offer open account terms while transferring defined nonpayment risk to EXIM. Cargo and shipping insurance sit outside this cover, and disputed invoices remain outside ordinary nonpayment cover until the dispute is resolved.

EXIM positions insurance as a credit management tool that draws on the agency's international underwriting capacity. Comparison materials distinguish single buyer and multi buyer forms, and premium is paid as shipments are reported under the policy.

Working capital loan guarantees

EXIM's Working Capital Loan Guarantee backs lender facilities so exporters can borrow against export related assets to fulfil orders. EXIM provides a 90 percent loan backing guarantee to the lender, and the guarantee can cover revolving or transaction specific facilities tied to multiple export sales or a single contract. There is no minimum or maximum transaction amount.

Uses include paying for materials, equipment, supplies and labour needed to fulfil export orders, posting standby letters of credit as bid, performance or payment guarantees, and purchasing finished products for export. EXIM cites more attractive advance rates than conventional financing and the inclusion of otherwise excluded collateral in the borrowing base among the benefits.

EXIM does not replace the exporter's bank. It works alongside lenders so the federal guarantee backs the borrower's debt if the facility defaults under the guarantee terms.

US EXIM products in project and structured finance

EXIM also supports larger project and structured finance in areas such as energy, infrastructure and capital equipment, as part of its broader portfolio for international buyers. Those structures still depend on US content rules, country eligibility, and environmental and economic impact policies. Medium and long term officially supported credits are framed by the OECD Arrangement disciplines that Participants apply to repayment terms and minimum premium.

Documentation and boundaries

Bank files distinguish product form: insurance payable to the exporter, a working capital guarantee payable to the lender on a US exporter facility, or a buyer loan guarantee payable to the lender on a foreign borrower. Conditions precedent, content certificates, promissory notes or lease schedules, and exposure fee mechanics are all product specific.

EXIM is not a commercial bank of first instance for working capital; it guarantees lender debt. It is not a grant agency. Military and certain restricted market transactions remain outside support, and private market insurance together with unguaranteed bank appetite still set the baseline for short term marketable risks where official support is limited.

Country Limitation Schedule restrictions and content policy compliance are recurring diligence items. Economic impact review can constrain support for transactions that otherwise meet the technical tests. Those policy screens are institutional features of US EXIM capacity, not optional bank covenants.

US EXIM products are, in sum, federal insurance and guarantee tools for eligible US exports, used by exporters and banks to shift commercial and political nonpayment risk or to expand borrowing base capacity, under EXIM policy and international export credit rules such as those maintained by the Berne Union.