Jan. 14--The federal Export-Import Bank, which helps U.S. companies sell their products abroad, said Thursday it earned a profit of $432 million for taxpayers last year despite a lengthy shutdown after congressional critics allowed its authorization to lapse.
The bank is funded by interest and fees on the loans it makes to foreign buyers of U.S. goods and other aid it gives to exporters.
Last year, the bank provided $12.4 billion in assistance to finance about $17 billion in exports, it said in its annual report.
The assistance was down from $20.5 billion the previous year. And profit was down as well, from $675 million.
But a key reason for both declines was that the bank operated only for nine months in the 2015 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. The bank was unable to provide any new assistance after June 30, when its charter expired.
In the report, Fred Hochberg, the agency's president, noted that Congress had never before allowed the bank's authority to lapse, adding, "make no mistake, the lapse in the bank's full authority had consequences."
Some exporters said they lost business. Boeing Co. announced layoffs at its Southern California-based satellite division after a customer could not get Export-Import Bank financing.
Conservatives have branded the bank's assistance corporate welfare because much of it benefits large exporters, such as Boeing and General Electric Co. Last spring, House Republican leaders prevented a vote to reauthorize the bank's charter.
