Diane Katz

Among its four principal financial products, the Export-Import Bank has provided “working capital” loans and loan guarantees that assure repayment to private lenders in the event a borrower defaults. According to bank officials, this form of subsidized financing “primarily” benefits small business. In a July 16 letter to Sen. Marco Rubio and others, Ex-Im president Fred Hochberg characterized the bank’s working capital financing as “issued to mostly small businesses.”

The charter of the US Export-Import Bank is set to expire on June 30 unless it is reauthorized by Congress. Scare tactics aside, the end of Ex-Im would not mean the loss of thousands of American jobs. Economists have long understood that subsidies doled out by government credit agencies such as the Ex-Im Bank are not merely unnecessary: they can actually harm the economy. In their quest to keep the subsidies flowing, proponents of the bank are claiming that failure to reauthorize its charter would lead to massive job losses. This blatant fearmongering has succeeded in causing concern among some lawmakers.

Ex-Im Bank advocates emphasize its importance to small businesses and economic growth. A new analysis of government data reveals that Ex-Im Bank’s top 10 overseas buyers are large corporations that primarily purchase exports from multinational conglomerates. Ex-Im Bank’s small business narrative is challenged by the fact that the buyers receiving the most subsidies are—like the exporters—major corporations.