U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member demands revised EXIM responses on transparency and ethics concerns

Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs wrote to Export-Import Bank of the United States President and Chairman John Jovanovic, urging him to immediately revise and resubmit written responses he provided after his March testimony before the committee on EXIM reauthorization. Warren said the answers were incomplete, non-responsive and evasive, and argued that Congress needs greater transparency into the bank’s operations and policies as it works on reauthorizing EXIM’s charter this year. The letter says Warren’s questions for the record focused on safeguards against corruption and conflicts of interest at EXIM, the firing of Inspector General Parisa Salehi, former acting Chief Banking Officer and former First Vice President nominee Bryce McFerran’s ties to the Russian government, and EXIM financing for Project Vault. Warren highlighted what she described as deficient answers on whether any entities associated with the Trump family had applied for or received EXIM loans, whether EXIM officials discussed Salehi’s removal with President Trump or White House staff, and whether EXIM could withdraw financing if Project Vault violated binding ethics and anti-corruption standards. She said the responses did not clearly address how EXIM would identify financial conflicts or prevent corruption. Warren asked Jovanovic to provide full and complete revised responses to the committee as soon as possible.