Export-Import Is Still Boeing’s Bank

The US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) has been called “Boeing’s Bank” because of the overwhelming benefits that the aerospace conglomerate has received from the federal export credit agency over the years. This week’s charts, which were created using figures from Ex-Im’s 2014 annual report, show that Boeing remains the primary beneficiary of the bank’s taxpayer-backed financing.

In fiscal year 2014, Ex-Im authorized $10.8 billion in long-term loan guarantees, which is the Bank’s largest program. The first chart (left) shows that $7.4 billion of that amount, or 68.3 percent, belonged to Boeing. The second chart (center) shows that, of the $20.5 billion in total authorizations across all programs made by Ex-Im last year, 40 percent belonged to Boeing.

The bank’s defenders often tout Ex-Im’s support for small businesses, but as the final chart (right) shows, Boeing’s 40 percent share of total authorizations dwarfs the 25 percent share for all small businesses combined.