EXIM is a self-sustaining federal government corporation that helps U.S. companies sell goods and services abroad by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and direct loans when private financing is unavailable or insufficient. It backs American exporters and the foreign buyers of U.S. products, and operates from fees rather than annual appropriations. Congress must periodically reauthorize its charter and caps its total lending authority.
Created by Congress under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. §§ 635 et seq.; Pub. L. 79-173, 59 Stat. 526), it acts within the authority that statute grants. Its actions are subject to judicial review and to congressional oversight and funding.
