§ 635a. Management of Bank
(a)
Establishment as independent agency
The Export-Import Bank of the United States shall constitute an independent agency of the United States and neither the Bank nor any of its functions, powers, or duties shall be transferred to or consolidated with any other department, agency, or corporation of the Government unless the Congress shall otherwise by law provide.
(b)
President and First Vice President of the Bank; appointment; duties
There shall be a President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, who shall be appointed by the President of the United States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall serve as chief executive officer of the Bank. There shall be a First Vice President of the Bank, who shall be appointed by the President of the United States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall serve as President of the Bank during the absence or disability of or in the event of a vacancy in the office of President of the Bank, and who shall at other times perform such functions as the President of the Bank may from time to time prescribe.
(c)
Board of Directors; composition; oath; terms; duties; quorum; bylaws
(1)
There shall be a Board of Directors of the Bank consisting of the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, who shall serve as Chairman, the First Vice President who shall serve as Vice Chairman, and three additional persons appointed by the President of the United States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2)
Of the five members of the Board, not more than three shall be members of any one political party.
(4)
Before entering upon his duties, each of the directors shall take an oath faithfully to discharge the duties of his office.
(5)
The directors, in addition to their duties as members of the Board, shall perform such additional duties and may hold such other offices in the administration of the Bank as the President of the Bank may from time to time prescribe.
(7)
The Board of Directors shall adopt, and may from time to time amend, such bylaws as are necessary for the proper management and functioning of the Bank, and shall, in such bylaws, designate the vice presidents and other officers of the Bank and prescribe their duties.
(8)
(A)
The terms of the directors, including the President and the First Vice President of the Bank, appointed under this section shall be four years, except that—
(i)
during their terms of office, the directors shall serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States;
(ii)
the term of any director appointed after November 30, 1983, to serve before January 20, 1985, shall expire on January 20, 1985;
(iii)
of the directors first appointed to serve beginning on or after January 21, 1985, two directors (other than the President and First Vice President of the Bank) shall be appointed for terms of two years, as designated by the President of the United States at the time of their appointment; and
(iv)
any director first appointed to serve for a term beginning on any date after January 21, 1985, shall serve only for the remainder of the period for which such director would have been appointed if such director’s term had begun on January 21, 1985. If such term would have expired before the date on which such director’s term actually begins, the term of such director shall be the four-year period, or remainder thereof, as if such director had been preceded by a director whose term had begun on January 21, 1985.
(B)
Of the five members of the Board appointed by the President, not less than one such member shall be selected from among the small business community and shall represent the interests of small business.
(9)
At the request of any 2 members of the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board shall place an item pertaining to the policies or procedures of the Bank on the agenda for discussion by the Board. Within 30 days after the date such a request is made, the Chairman shall hold a meeting of the Board at which the item shall be discussed.
(d)
Advisory Committee; appointment; composition; meetings; advice to Bank; report to Congress
(1)
(2)
(A)
Not less than three members appointed to the Advisory Committee shall be representative of the small business community.
(4)
The Advisory Committee shall advise the Bank on its programs, and shall submit, with the report specified in section
635
(b)(1)(A) of this title, its own comments to the Congress on the extent to which the Bank is meeting its mandate to provide competitive financing to expand United States exports, and any suggestions for improvements in this regard.
(e)
Conflicting personal interests
(1)
No director, officer, attorney, agent, or employee of the Bank shall in any manner, directly or indirectly, participate in the deliberation upon or the determination of any question affecting such individual’s personal interests, or the interests of any corporation, partnership or association in which such individual is directly or indirectly personally interested.
(2)
The General Counsel of the Bank shall ensure that the directors, officers, and employees of the Bank have available appropriate legal counsel for advice on, and oversight of, issues relating to personnel matters and other administrative law matters by designating an attorney to serve as Assistant General Counsel for Administration, whose duties, under the supervision of the General Counsel, shall be concerned solely or primarily with such issues.
(f)
Small Business Division
(1)
Establishment
There is established a Small Business Division (in this subsection referred to as the “Division”) within the Bank in order to—
(A)
carry out the provisions of subparagraphs (E) and (I) of section
635
(b)(1) of this title relating to outreach, feedback, product improvement, and transaction advocacy for small business concerns (as defined in section
632
(a) of title
15);
(B)
advise and seek feedback from small business concerns on the opportunities and benefits for small business concerns in the financing products offered by the Bank, with particular emphasis on conducting outreach, enhancing the tailoring of products to small business needs and increasing loans to small business concerns;
(C)
maintain liaison with the Small Business Administration and other departments and agencies in matters affecting small business concerns; and
(D)
provide oversight of the development, implementation, and operation of technology improvements to strengthen small business outreach, including the technology improvement required by section
635
(b)(1)(E)(x) of this title.
(g)
Small business specialists
(2)
Responsibilities
The small business specialists shall be involved in all aspects of processing applications for loans, guarantees, and insurance to support exports by small business concerns, including the approval or disapproval, or staff recommendations of approval or disapproval, as applicable, of such applications. In carrying out these responsibilities, the small business specialists shall consider the unique business requirements of small businesses and shall develop exporter performance criteria tailored to small business exporters.
(3)
Approval authority
In an effort to maximize the speed and efficiency with which the Bank processes transactions primarily benefitting small business concerns, the small business specialists shall be authorized to approve applications for working capital loans and guarantees, and insurance in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Board. It is the sense of Congress that the policies and procedures should not prohibit, where appropriate, small business specialists from approving applications for working capital loans and guarantees, and for insurance, in support of exports which have a value of less than $10,000,000.
(4)
Identification
The Bank shall prominently identify the small business specialists on its website and in promotional material.
(5)
Employee evaluations
The evaluation of staff designated by the President of the Bank under paragraph (1), including annual reviews of performance of duties related to transactions in support of exports by small business concerns, and any resulting recommendations for salary adjustments, promotions, and other personnel actions, shall address the criteria established pursuant to subsection (h)(2)(B)(iii) and shall be conducted by the manager of the relevant operating division following consultation with the officer appointed to manage the Small Business Division pursuant to subsection (f)(2).
(6)
Staff recommendations
Staff recommendations of denial or withdrawal for medium-term applications, exporter held multi-buyer policies, single buyer policies, and working capital applications processed by the Bank shall be transmitted to the officer appointed to manage the Small Business Division pursuant to subsection (f)(2) not later than 2 business days before a final decision.
(h)
Small Business Committee
(1)
Establishment
There is established a management committee to be known as the “Small Business Committee”.
(2)
Purpose and duties
(A)
Purpose
The purpose of the Small Business Committee shall be to coordinate the Bank’s initiatives and policies with respect to small business concerns (as defined in section
632
(a) of title
15), including the timely processing and underwriting of transactions involving direct exports by small business concerns, and the development and coordination of efforts to implement new or enhanced Bank products and services pertaining to small business concerns.
(B)
Duties
The duties of the Small Business Committee shall be determined by the President of the Bank and shall include the following:
(i)
Assisting in the development of the Bank’s small business strategic plans, including the Bank’s plans for carrying out section
635
(b)(1)(E) (v) and (x) of this title, and measuring and reporting in writing to the President of the Bank, at least once a year, on the Bank’s progress in achieving the goals set forth in the plans.
(ii)
Evaluating and reporting in writing to the President of the Bank, at least once a year, with respect to—
(3)
Composition
(A)
Chairperson
The Chairperson of the Small Business Committee shall be the officer appointed to manage the Small Business Division pursuant to subsection (f)(2). The Chairperson shall have the authority to call meetings of the Small Business Committee, set the agenda for Committee meetings, and request policy recommendations from the Committee’s members.
(B)
Other members
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the President of the Bank shall determine the composition of the Small Business Committee, and shall appoint or remove the members of the Small Business Committee. In making such appointments, the President of the Bank shall ensure that the Small Business Committee is comprised of—
(i)
Office of financing for socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and small business concerns owned by women
(1)
Establishment
The President of the Bank shall establish in the Small Business Division an office whose sole functions shall be to continue and enhance the outreach activities of the Bank with respect to, and increase the total amount of loans, guarantees, and insurance provided by the Bank to support exports by, socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns (as defined in section
637
(a)(4) of title
15) and small business concerns owned by women.