EX-IM BANK MULTI-BUYER EXPORT CREDIT INSURANCE:
EXTENDING CREDIT UNDER YOUR POLICY
Being able to extend credit terms to foreign buyers gives you an advantage in doing Business
abroad and is a major benefit of your Ex-Im Bank policy.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) offers exporters two types of buyer
credit limits:
1. a Discretionary Credit Limit (DCL) which is included in many Ex-Im Bank Multi-Buyer
policies, and
2. a Special Buyer Credit Limit (SBCL) or Issuing Bank Credit Limit (IBCL), for which you
need to apply when your policy doesn’t include a DCL, when your DCL is too low for a
particular buyer or issuing bank, or when your DCL is restricted by Ex-Im Bank’s Country
Limitation Schedule.
1. YOUR DCL
A DCL is a per-buyer limit included in many Multi-Buyer policies which enables you to extend
credit terms, up to specified amounts, without prior Ex-Im Bank approval, provided that you first
obtain certain information that justifies the credit amount you’re extending.
The DCL cannot be used if an SBCL or IBCL is in effect for a buyer or issuing bank even if the
amount or term of the SBCL/IBCL is less than that of the DCL. The DCL also cannot be used if
the buyer, on the date of shipment, is more than 90 days past due to you on an amount, in the
aggregate, greater than $2,000.
There are two types of DCLs endorsed to multi-buyer policies:
1. A “credit” DCL requires you to obtain current credit information on the buyer, or on the
foreign bank issuing letters of credit on your buyer’s behalf, before making shipment. This
DCL will apply to new buyers – those to which you have never sold before, as well as to
buyers you wish to move from secured payment terms (documentary credits and letters of
credit) to open account terms.
2. A “ledger” DCL authorizes you to extend credit terms to a buyer, or foreign bank issuing
letters of credit on your buyer’s behalf, based on your past favorable trading experience
on similar amounts and similar repayment terms. This allows y