Full text of Marriner S. Eccles Papers : Bill to Provide for Increasing the Lending Authority of the Export-Import Bank of Washington, and for Other Purposes, Box 38, Folder 11, Item 10

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Union Calendar No. 2 7 7
79TH CONGKESS
1ST SESSION

H. R. 3771
[Report No. 911]

THE HOUSE OF KEPKESENTATIVES
12,1945
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency
JULY

Mr.

SPENCE

12,1945
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed
JULY

A BILL
To provide for increasing the lending authority of the ExportImport Bank of Washington, and for other purposes.
1

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repi*esenta-

2

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3

That this Act may be cited as the "Export-Import Bank

4

Act of 1945".

5

SEC. 2. (a) The Export-Import Bank of Washington,

G District of Columbia, a banking corporation organized under
7

the laws of the District of Columbia as an agency of the

8

United States, is continued as an agency of the United

9

States, and in addition to existing charter powers, and with-

10

out limitation as to the total amount of obligations thereto




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1

of any borrower, endorser, acceptor, obligor, or guarantor

2

at any time outstanding, it is hereby authorized and em-

3

powered to make loans, to discount, rediscount or guarantee

4 notes, drafts, bills of exchange, and other evidences of debt,
5

or participate in the the same, for the purpose of aiding in

6

the financing and facilitating of exports and imports and

7

the exchange of commodities between the United States

8

or any of its Territories or insular possessions and any foreign

9

country or the agencies or nationals thereof.

The bank is

10 hereby authorized to use all its assets, including capital and
11 net earnings therefrom, and to use all moneys which have
12

been or may hereafter be allocated to or borrowed by it, in

13 the exercise of its functions as such agency.
14

(b) It is the policy of the Congress that the bank in

15 the exercise of its functions should supplement and encourage
16 and not compete with private capital, and that loans, so far
17 as possible consistently with carrying out the purposes of
18 subsection (a), shall generally be for specific purposes, and,
19 in the judgment of the Board of'Directors, offer reasonable
20 assurance of repayment.
21

SEC. 3. (a)

(1) The management of the Export-

22 Import Bank of Washington shall be vested in a Board of
23 Directors consisting of the Administrator of the Foreign
24 Economic Administration, who shall serve as Chairman,
25 the Secretary of State, and three persons appointed by the



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1

President of the United States by and with the advice and

2

consent of the Senate. The Secretary of State, to such ex-

3

tent as he deems it advisable^ may designate to act for him

4

in the discharge of his duties as a member of the Board of

5

Directors any officer of the Department of State who shall

6 have been appointed by and with the advice and consent
7

of the Senate.

8

(2) If the Foreign Economic Administration ceases to

9

exist in the Office for Emergency Management in the Ex-

1°

ecutive Office of the President, tlxe President of the United

11 States shall appoint hj and with the advice and consent
12

of the Senate another member of the Board of Directors.

13 The member so appointed shall serve for the remainder of
14 the existing terms of the other three appointed members,
15 but successors shall be appointed for terms of five years.
16 After the Foreign Economic Administrator ceases to be
17 a member of the Board of Directors the President of the
18 United States shall, from time to time, designate one of the
19 members of the Board to serve as Chairman.
20

(3) Of the five members of the Board, not more than

21 three shall be members of any one political party.

Each

22 of the appointed directors shall devote his time not other23 wise required by the business of the United States principalLy
24 to the business of the bank. Before entering upon his duties
25 each of the directors so appointed and each officer of the



4
1 bank shall take an oath faithfully to discharge the duties of
2 his office. The terms of the appointed directors shall be
3 five years, except that the terms of the directors first ap4 pointed shall run from the date of appointment until June
5 30, 1950. Whenever a vacancy occurs among the directors
6 so appointed, the person appointed to fill such vacancy
7 shall hold office for the unexpired portion of the term
8 of the director whose place he is selected to fill. Each
9 of the appointed directors shall receive a salary at the
10 rate of $12,000 per annum, unless he is an officer of the
11 bank, in which event he may elect to receive the salary of
12 such officer. No director, officer, attorney, agent, or em13 ployee of the bank shall in any manner, directly or indirectly,
14 participate in the deliberation upon or the determination of
15 any question affecting his personal interests, or the interests
16 of any corporation, partnership, or association in which he
17 is directly or indirectly personally interested.
18

(b) A majority of the Board of Directors shall con-

19 stitute a quorum.
20

(c) The Board of Directors shall adopt such bylaws as

21 are necessary for the proper management and functioning of
22 the Export-Import Bank of Washington, and may amend
23 the same.
24

(d) There shall be an advisory board consisting of

35 the Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Washington,



5
1

who shall serve as Chairman, the Secretary of State, the

2 Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and
3 the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Re4 serve System, which shall meet at the call of the Chairman.
5 The advisory board may make such recommendations to the
6 Board of Directors as it deems advisable, and the Board
7 of Directors shall consult the advisory board on major ques8 tions of policy.
9

(e) Until October 31, 1945, or until at least two of

10 the members of the Board of Directors to be appointed have
11 qualified as such directors, whichever is the earlier, the affairs
12 of the bank shall continue to be managed by the existing
13 Board of Trustees.
14

(f) The Export-Import Bank of Washington shall con-

15 stitute an independent agency of the United States and
16 neither the bank nor any of its functions, powers, or duties
17 shall be transferred to or consolidated with any other depart18 ment, agency, or corporation of the Government unless
19 the Congress shall otherwise by law provide.
20

SEC. 4. The Export-Import Bank of Washington shall;

21 have a capital stock of $1,000,000,000 subscribed by the
22 United States. Payment for $1,000,000 of such capital
23 stock shall be made by the surrender to the bank for can24 cellation of the common stock heretofore issued by the
H. E. 3771



2

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1

bank and purchased by the United States. Payment for

2

$174,000,000 of such capital stock shall be made by the

3

surrender to the bank for cancellation of the preferred stock

4 heretofore issued by the bank and purchased b}^ the Kecon5

struction Finance Corporation.

Payment for the $825,-

6

000,000 balance of such capital stock shall be subject to

7

call at any time in whole or in part by the Board of

8

Directors of the bank.

9

ments of such balance, the Secretary of the Treasury is

10

authorized to use as a public-debt transaction the proceeds

For the purpose of making pay-

11 of any securities hereafter issued under the Second Liberty
12 Bond Act, as amended, and the purposes for which securi13

ties may be issued under that Act are extended to include

14 such purpose. Payment under this section of the subscrip15 tion of the United States to the bank and repayments
16 thereof shall be treated as public-debt transactions of the
17 United States. Certificates evidencing stock ownership of
18 the United States shall be issued by the bank to the Presi19 dent of the United States, or to such other person or persons
20

as he may designate from time to time, to the extent of

21 the common and preferred stock surrendered and other pay22 ments made for the capital stock of the bank under this
23 section.
24

SEC. 5. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay

25 to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation the par value



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1

of the preferred stock upon its surrender to the bank for

2 cancellation. For the purpose of making such payments
3

to the Eeconstruction Finance Corporation the Secretary

4 of the Treasury is authorized to use as a public-debt trans5 action the proceeds of any securities hereafter

issued

6 under the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the
7 purposes for which securities may be issued under that Act
8 are extended to include such purpose. Payment under this
9 * subsection to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation shall
10 be treated as public-debt transactions of the United States.
11

(b) Any dividends on the preferred stock accumulated

12 and unpaid to the date of its surrender for cancellation shall
13 be paid to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation by the
14 bank.
15

SEC. 6. The Export-Import Bank of Washington is

16 authorized to issue from time to time for purchase by the
17 Secretary of the Treasury its notes, debentures, bonds, or
18 other obligations; but the aggregate amount of such obliga19 tions outstanding at any one time shall not exceed two
20 and one-half times the authorized capital stock of the bank.
21 Such obligations shall be redeemable at the option of the
22 bank before maturity in such manner as may be stipulated
23 in such obligations and shall have such maturity and bear
24 such rate of interest as may be determined by the Board of
25 Directors of the bank with the approval of the Secretary



8
1

of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby

2 authorized and directed to purchase any obligations of the
3

bank issued hereunder and for such purpose the Secretary

4

of the Treasury is authorized to use as a public-debt trans-

5

action the proceeds of any securities hereafter issued under

6

the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the pur-

7

poses for which securities may be issued under that Act

8

are extended to include such purpose. Payment under this

9

section of the purchase price of such obligations of the bank

10 and repayments thereof by the bank shall be treated as
11 public-debt transactions of the United States.
12

SEC. 7. The Export-Import Bank of Washington shall

13 not have outstanding at any one time loans and guaranties
14 in an aggregate amount in excess of three and one-half
15 times the authorized capital stock of the bank.
16

SEC. 8. The provisions of the existing charter of the

17 bank relating to the term of its existence, to the management
18 of its affairs, and to its capital stock are superseded by the
19 provisions of this Act and the bank shall be exempt from
20 compliance with any provisions of law relating to the amend21 ment of certificates of incorporation or to the retirement
22 or increase of stock of District of Columbia corporations and
23 from the payment of any fee or tax to the Kecorder of Deeds
24 of the District of Columbia determined upon the value or
25 amount of capital stock of the bank or any increase thereof.



9
1

SEC. 9. The Export-Import Bank of Washington shall

2 transmit to the Congress semiannually a complete and detailed
3 report of its operations. The report shall be as of the close
4 of business on June 30 and December 31 of each year,
5
6

SEC. 10. Section 9 of the Act of January 31, 1935
(49 Stat. 4, ch. 2), as amended, is repealed.

7

SEC, 11. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act of

8 April 13, 1934 (48 Stat., ch. 112, p. 574), any person, in9 eluding any individual, partnership, corporation, or associa0 tion, may act for or participate with the iExport-Import
1

Bank of Washington in any operation or transaction, or may

12 acquire any obligation issued in connection with any operation
3 or transaction, engaged in by the bank.







Union Calendar No. 277
79THCONGKBSS
1ST SESSION

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[Report No. 911]

A BILL
To provide for increasing the lending authority of the Export-Import Bank of Washington, and for other purposes.
By Mr. SPENCE
.

JULY 12,1945

Referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency
JULY 12,1945

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed