US Ex-Im Bank reopens

The Export-Import Bank of the United States reopened for new business on 4 December after President Barack Obama signed into law the bank’s reauthorisation following votes in the Senate and House of Representatives. Ex-Im Bank requires periodic congressional authorisation to issue financing, with its most recent period of authorisatio lapsing in July 2015. More conservative Republican congressmen, some of whom are on committees deciding Ex-Im’s fate, view the bank as a vehicle for “corporate welfare” and stalled its reauthorisation in what was seen by many as an attempt to shut the bank for good.