Member Biography
Rick Schulze is the Regional Manager of International Trade Programs for SBA at the North Texas Export Assistance Center. Rick is a Trade Finance Specialist who assists American exporters in finding financing for export transactions. His territory includes the States of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Rick was appointed to his current position in March of 1995. He graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a degree in
Economics and did his graduated studies at the University of Arizona in Finance. Rick is a seasoned Loan Officer with over 30 years of lending experience including 10 years as a Trade Finance Officer. As the Regional Manager, he advises businesses on financing international transactions and underwrites loan guarantee requests. In fiscal 2004, 2663 SBA loans to exporters were made in the region covered by Rick. Total amount loaned was over $75.9 million, and the total export sales reported by loan recipients were $188.5 million.
Business Information
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a federal government agency charged with assisting small and medium sized businesses in a variety of areas, including but not limited to access to capital (financing), contracting, and business development. The Office of International Trade within the SBA is charged with assisting small and medium sized businesses which export products and/or services. The Office of International Trade has a staff of Trade Finance Specialists housed in U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEAC) in 16 locations throughout the United States. The SBA Representatives at the USEACs primarily handle SBA's specialty loan guaranty programs geared for American Exporters.
