Egregious Ex-Im Bank Deal of the Day
e·gre·gious -- outstandingly bad; shocking.
Washington,
July 17, 2014 -
$10.3 Million: Ex-Im Acted “Fast” for Crony-Connected Solyndra
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“Ugh.”
That’s exactly how taxpayers feel after losing money not just once but twice on the crony-connected and now-failed solar panel manufacturer Solyndra.
Interestingly, both projects for Solyndra were dealt with rather quickly by the Obama Administration. Ex-Im boasts in its press release that the Solyndra project benefited from “fast due-diligence” and the Washington Post reports “the White House pushed loan reviewers to make a quick financing decision” on Solyndra’s loan guarantee.
Here are the deal details:
Not only were taxpayers on the hook for the $535 million in failed “stimulus” money Solyndra received through a loan guarantee and then went bankrupt two years later, but taxpayers also financed a deal in 2011 when the Ex-Im Bank guaranteed a $10.3 million loan provided by KBC Bank NV – whose parent company is one of the top three financial institutions in Belgium. The loan guarantee went to finance the sale of politically-connected Solyndra’s products to provide energy for a distribution center of Delhaize, a Belgian supermarket chain that posted $28 billion in revenues last year.
“Bank of Washington,” indeed.
President Obama tours Solyndra in May, 2010.
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