The Business Council of Alabama was among the sponsors at the Global Access Exporter Forum, hosted by the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, that emphasized the importance of the Export-Import Bank of the United States for small- and medium-size businesses.

Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred H. Hochberg spoke of the importance of the Bank and how it can empower American small businesses with its ability to provide needed financing for overseas trading.

Hochberg said that while America's private sector capital markets are the highest-functioning and most efficient in the world, commercial banks don't always have the capacity or willingness to finance American businesses that want to sell goods and services overseas. "Ex-Im's role is to fill that gap," Hochberg said in his Chairman's Message.

The Ex-Im Bank is a charter entity, which must be renewed periodically by Congress. The bank's current charter expires June 30 but there is legislation in Congress to extend the charter.

The Ex-Im Bank helps thousands of U.S. small businesses, including many in Alabama, and a long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank would ensure continued growth and increased employment.

BCA President and CEO William J. Canary urges Alabama companies that use the bank to directly or indirectly encourage both U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, as well as their members of Congress, to support long-term reauthorization.

"Our delegation must hear from you that a vote against the Ex-Im Bank is a vote against you, it is a vote against the jobs you provide, it is a vote against the United States, and it is a vote to send Alabama jobs overseas," Canary said in a recent conference call.

The BCA has been working actively with 650 other organizations and businesses from 41 states to urge lawmakers to reauthorize the Bank. Just last week, the BCA contacted the 82 companies in Alabama that work directly with the Bank urging them to contact their Members of Congress in support of the Bank.

The Ex-Im Bank actually makes money for the U.S. Treasury, said U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, who attended Hochberg's presentation.

The BCA is part of a nationwide coalition of organizations and businesses that are for the Export-Import Bank's renewal. "Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank is a crucial ingredient in the toolbox of dozens of Alabama businesses who employ at least 5,000 men and women in the business of exporting and importing," Canary said.