Former Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus III has been appointed as the Interim President and Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the federal agency announced this week.

He is a member of EXIM’s Board of Directors, currently serving his second term which is set to expire in 2027.

Bachus, a Birmingham native, represented Alabama’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than two decades, serving from 1993 to 2015. Throughout his tenure, he played a monumental role in shaping financial policy, particularly during his time as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee from 2006 to 2012.

“I am extremely honored to have been asked to serve as Interim Chair of EXIM,” Bachus said. “In my time at the Bank I have had the opportunity to tour several American businesses and work daily to increase the competitiveness of U.S. exports across the globe.”

Bachus was nominated by President Donald Trump in his first term and confirmed by the Senate in May 2019 to be a member of EXIM’s Board of Directors. He was nominated by President Biden for a second term and was confirmed by the Senate in December 2023.

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During deliberations on the legislative response to the financial crisis of 2008, Bachus, as Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee, was the first to propose the Capital Purchase Program that the U.S. Treasury eventually adopted as the primary method of successfully stabilizing the U.S. banking system.

A graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law, Bachus has devoted his acumen and clout to a range of causes greater than himself over the years.

In 2011, the FBI and American Football Coaches Association honored Bachus for his advocacy and support for the National Child Identification Program, the largest financial child safety initiative in history. The initiative helps combat cases of missing or abducted children by providing identification kits to parents that allow the parents or other guardians to collect and keep their children’s fingerprints and other identifying characteristics.

Bachus, and his wife, Linda, were awarded the National Distinguished Advocacy Award for Excellence in Cancer-Fighting Public Policy by The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the group’s highest legislative honor.