STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 2 July 2015

[Demeter]

18. Republican senators demand liquidation plan for U.S. Ex-Im Bank

EX-IM IS HISTORY, AND THE WORLD HASN'T ENDED---YET

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/01/us-usa-eximbank-liquidation-idUSKCN0PB65I20150701

Seven conservative Republican senators demanded on Wednesday that the U.S. Export-Import Bank disclose plans to begin liquidating its assets after the government trade lender's charter expired amid congressional inaction.

Ex-Im can no longer seek or process new applications for loans, loan guarantees and trade insurance, but it has said it will stay open to continue servicing $112 billion in existing obligations. The agency's operating budget has been approved through Sept. 30.

The suspension of Ex-Im's new business operations on Wednesday marked a partial victory for conservatives campaigning to close the bank, which they say promotes "crony capitalism" and interferes in free markets by subsidizing large, politically connected companies.

But Democrats and moderate Republicans hope to revive the trade bank later this month by attaching charter renewal legislation to a "must-pass" highway and rail transit funding bill.

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