Loans to boost exports. In many countries these are subsidized by a government keen to encourage exports. Typically, the credit comes in two forms: loans to foreign buyers of domestic produce; and guarantees on loans made by banks to domestic companies so they can produce the exports that should pay off the loan. This effectively insures producers against non-payment. When governments compete aggressively with export credits to win business for domestic firms the sums involved can become large. The economic benefit of export credits is unclear at the best of times. This may be because they are largely motivated by political goals.