European Investment Bank

European Investment Bank, the European Union's (EU) financing and long-term lending institution was created in 1958 to contribute towards the integration, poised development and economic and social cohesion of the EU member countries. European Investment Bank also carries out the programs designed under European development aid and cooperation policies. The member states of EU are also the members of the bank. The headquarter of the bank is in Luxembourg but it has regional offices located inside or outside of EU. Philippe Maystadt (Belgium) is the current president of European Investment Bank.

Functions of European Investment Bank:

Primary Goal- European Investment Bank's mission is to help EU achieve its goals of financing long-term needs for specific capital projects.
Integration- By providing financial backing to the member countries of EU, European Investment Bank helps create a better and less fragmented Europe.
Attractive Offers- It borrows on the capital markets as well as finances capital projects. European Investment Bank provides a great variety of services both due to its own lending operations and ability to bring on financing from diversified sources. The financial soundness and excellent track record that European Investment Bank pursued helps it to borrow at finest terms. This influences the terms and conditions worked out while granting loans.
Capital Markets- European Investment Bank offers a variety of bonds and commercial papers ranging from large, liquid benchmarks to tailor-made issues. It is not only the world's largest borrower but also provides top quality credit and its securities are a product of repute among institutional and retail capitalists internationally.
Human Capital- European Investment Bank has recently forayed in funding for experimental and advanced cancer treatment system (hadron therapy). The bank in cooperation with World Bank is increasingly involving more intangible human capital projects and is presently looking forward to a policy programme in Turkey to provide health care services for school children. The bank has been lending for long to the PPPs in the health sector in UK. Loans to French health sector aggregated to EUR 2.5 billion for 2002-06. European Investment Bank also financed the Cascais Hospital and SPV (Special Purpose Vehicles) for infrastructure and clinical services.
SME- The need for increased operations to assist SMEs, EIB Group was established in 2000. It consists of European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund. European Investment Bank is the major shareholder (59.15%) of European Investment Fund. The most important role played by the EIB Group is that it helps to maintain competitiveness in the European Industry by promoting the activities of SMEs and smaller businesses helping them out with medium and long term loans and guarantees.
TENs-Large infrastructure networks of transport, energy and telecommunications known as Trans-European Networks (TENs) play a major role in underpinning the developmental and integration goals of the EU. These facilitate free movement of people and goods and thus help in integration of EU. TENs cover all the 27 Member states. European Investment Bank assumes a greater degree of credit risk while financing TENs projects under Structured Finance Facility. European Investment Bank also proposed Loan Guarantee Instrument for TENs with the purpose of funding TENs projects via the assumption of the traffic revenue ramp-up risk in the early years.
i2i- The EIB Group launched the Innovation 2010 Initiative (i2i)in response to the Lisbon agenda. It basically focuses on setting up a competitive, innovative and knowledge-based European economy. The main aim of i2i is to enhance the quality of education, bring in substantial progress in the R&D (Research and Development) sector and promoting the network of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) that will fetch long term regional parity
Environmental Outlook- The bank pays special attention to environmental sustainability by improving the quality of life, protecting nature and wildlife, addressing health issues and substantiating renewable energy to confront climate change.

European Investment Bank was in news recently because:

European Investment Bank applied the Aarhus Regulation no 28th June 2007. This regulation permits EU institutions and bodies to apply the provisions of the Aarhus Convention. This regulation is related to public access to environmental information and public participation in decision-making.
European Investment Bank launched a public consultation focused on setting standard for combining the bank's existing policy with guidelines on financing terrorism and fighting corruption, fraud and money laundering. The exact procedure for conducting investigations will be laid down by the Inspectorate General of the European Investment Bank.
European Investment Bank has launched JASPERS (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions). This is a move to assist beneficiary countries especially the new and assenting member countries of EU to use EU Structural and Cohesion Funds. JASPERS is a major plan adopted with support from European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
European Investment Bank University Research Action Committee has decided to award the research on "Quantitative Analysis and Analytical Method to Price Securitization Deals" to the Technical University of Eindhoven. However the call for proposals will be relaunched for the research on "Public Investment under Budgetary Restrictions in New Member States".
European Investment Bank entered into an agreement with BGFIBANK, South Africa to share the risk on loans granted to commercial enterprises by BGFIBANK.
European Investment Bank has signed finance contracts with Banque Gabonaise de D�veloppement and Financial Bank Gabon to provide EUR 7 million for lending to commercial enterprises (private and public) and micro finance institutions in Gabon. The eligibility criteria for availing these loans include MLT (Medium to Long Term) financing for 3 to 10 years, financially sound position, environment friendly operations and sense of social responsibility.