The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has approved a $97.2 million, two-year revolving working-capital loan guarantee facility to support exports of Embraer's Phenom light jets assembled in Melbourne, Florida. EXIM estimated that the facility would back exports valued at $200 million and support up to 700 jobs at Embraer’s Melbourne facility and at its suppliers.

A renewal of a $97.2 million loan guarantee approved in July 2020, the latest facility will also help Embraer meet working-capital needs during the two-year term. EXIM noted that ongoing travel restrictions have hampered exports and said the guarantee facility leverages its Covid-19 relief measures.

“This transaction demonstrates that EXIM can step in to make a critical difference for U.S. exporters and the workers that have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said EXIM acting president and chairman James Burrows. “The pandemic has affected the liquidity of commercial lenders and their ability to make new loans, which has, in turn, hit the aircraft and aviation industries particularly hard. EXIM’s support enables these loan facilities to continue to support America’s aerospace manufacturers and the jobs that their exports create and sustain.”

New York-based Apple Bank for Savings, which provided the guarantee for last year’s approved working-capital loan, is also the guaranteed lender for the renewed facility. AirFinance Leasing arranged and serviced the financing.