DALLAS, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Commerce's U.S. Commercial Service announced a new partnership with Comerica Bank aimed at growing exports from U.S. small- and medium-sized enterprises. The partnership is designed to increase awareness among U.S. businesses of the array of export promotion and assistance resources and expertise available to them from the public and private sectors.
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"More than 70 percent of the world's purchasing power is outside the United States," said Israel Hernandez, assistant secretary for trade promotion and director general of the U.S. Commercial Service. "Through our combined resources, we recognize that we can more effectively promote U.S. exports and improve the country's competitive advantage in global trade. Comerica Bank has been providing global trade solutions for over 50 years and operates in Texas and California, the number one and number two U.S. exporting states, making this partnership a natural fit."
"If you do business here in the United States, the most competitive market in the world, then you can certainly sell your product or service in other markets around the world, just like small- and medium-sized businesses do every day," Hernandez added.
"Taking advantage of opportunities in global markets has become an important growth strategy for many companies. As a result, the need for resources and solutions is growing. We continue to tailor our global trade solutions to meet our customer's requirements and help them compete more effectively in the global marketplace," said Warren D. Shifferd, Jr., senior vice president and director of International Trade Services for Comerica. "By partnering with the U.S. Commercial Service, we can provide our smaller business customers with additional resources, beyond our broad array of global trade solutions, to help them start exporting or to grow their export sales in existing and new foreign markets."
U.S. exporters stand to benefit from the joint resources of Comerica Bank and the U.S. Commercial Service. The U.S. Commercial Service's export services network extends around the world, with trade specialists in more than 100 U.S. cities and 80 countries, providing market research, trade events, introductions to qualified buyers and distributors, and counseling and advocacy. Comerica Bank offers an array of export solutions that support every stage of the global supply chain, including solutions to optimize working capital (financing of inventory, accounts receivable and accounts payable), mitigate key risks (structuring of international payment methods -- letters of credit, documentary collections, wire transfers; foreign exchange services) and simplify the trade process (Web-based services for trade, foreign exchange and international wires). In addition, Comerica Bank is a Super Delegated Authority lender and Fast Track lender for the Ex-Im Bank Working Capital Guarantee Program. Comerica Bank was named the 2006 Small Business Bank of the Year by Ex-Im Bank.
Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated, a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada, China and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $66 billion at June 30, 2008. To receive e-mail alerts of breaking Comerica news, go to http://www.comerica.com/newsalerts.
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SOURCE: Comerica Bank
CONTACT: Wayne Mielke of Comerica Bank, +1-214-462-4463,
wjmielke@comerica.com
Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
http://www.comerica.com/newsalerts
