Seeing The Bridge, Not The Gap
At First American Bank, our mission is to help our clients navigate and overcome these challenges through personalized, custom-tailored Small Business Administration (SBA) lending solutions including the Export Working Capital Program (EWCP).
“We are one of the most active lenders under the SBA’s EWCP program and its flexibility has allowed us to structure a variety of Trade Finance solutions for growing exporters and manufacturers” explains Daniel Pische, Senior Vice President of Trade Finance and the bank’s resident EWCP expert. “Our customized Trade Finance solutions allow us to build financial bridges for our clients where most other banks just see the financial gap.”
Take, for example, one of First American’s long-term medical device manufacturing clients. A Miami-based leader in precision sutures and surgical meshes, the company now has customers in over 100 countries. As the company's client base grew, they needed to transition away from concentrated multi-year contracts. This transition required on-demand fulfillment from standing inventory instead of run-by-run, putting a strain on their working capital as they had to invest heavily in finished good inventory.
This is where First American Bank’s decades of experience in customized EWCP lending solutions came in. We were able to provide additional liquidity to support the company’s growing international sales when more traditional bank loans or lines of credit were not an option.
The key to the EWCP is its flexibility. When the client operated through contracted production orders, we offered a transactional line of credit based on invoices that allowed them to fulfill individual orders while simultaneously providing buyers extended payment terms. This boosted the company’s competitiveness on large contracts and increased its customer base.
As the client grew and its business model shifted to immediate fulfillment, a new approach was needed, so we provided them with a blended solution including an asset-based line of credit for day-to-day inventory and a transactional line of credit to support longer-run contracts. This agile financing solution allowed the company to continue meeting its diverse customers’ needs in growing global markets by leveraging both foreign accounts receivable and standing inventory.
“The flexibility of the SBA’s Export Working Capital Program allowed our client to access the working capital they needed at each stage of their growth curve,” says Pische on one of the EWCP’s principal benefits for expanding companies. “Our experience blending various forms of working capital is what makes First American Bank unique. We know how to administer a range of trade finance solutions beginning with purchase orders and invoice financing early on all the way through asset-based lines of credit as companies grow. Our deep familiarity with this SBA program allows us to use its full potential to address our clients’ working capital needs every step of the way no matter how quickly their business is growing.”
For more information on what First American Bank’s Trade Finance experts can do to help grow your export business to its next stage you can learn more here about our current loan programs.
To learn more
Contact Us
También puede interesarle
How These Three Companies Used Hedging to Boost Their Business
Business owners are always looking for ways to avoid potential risks. Find out how we helped these three businesses use hedging to manage their exposure and expand for the future.
Four Questions to Ask Yourself When Thinking About Selling Your Business
In order to get the most out of your business sale, you’ll need to start planning as soon as possible. Here’s why.