European Investment Bank Activity Report 2018

Opportunity delivered

European Investment Bank

• Publisher: European Investment Bank
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9789286141447
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Corporate Finance
• Index: Business

The European Investment Bank is the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world.- In the 2018 HIGHLIGHTS you can read about the lending volume and investment in each EU country.- President Werner Hoyer lays out the STRATEGY and the thinking behind the EIB's activity in 2018.- Three additional sections focus on key aspects of our goals: JOBS AND GROWTH, SUSTAINABILITY and GENDER EQUALITY.We draw a narrative from the source of the finance – an individual investor– through the process of bond issuance and lending, until the final beneficiary. You'll meet the woman in Croatia whose job as an engineer was created by that complex mechanism and the inspirational microfinance leader making such a vital difference on the ground in Senegal. You'll find a range of projects, each of which contributes to the security or advancement of women from India to Ireland. Underlying all this is our ambition to tell you about the EIB's sustainable approach to creating opportunity for EU citizens and for people in developing countries.

HOW THIS REPORT IS STRUCTURED

The European Investment Bank is the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world. If you want an overview of what that means in terms of lending volume, you can read the 2018 HIGHLIGHTS and THE EIB GROUP IN YOUR COUNTRY. Accompany that with the FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT, in which Werner Hoyer lays out the strategy and the thinking behind the EIB’s activity in 2018, and you’ll have a clear idea of the Bank’s massive impact and of its rationale.

But volume isn’t the whole story. That’s why we wrote this report to include three sections that focus on key aspects of our goals: JOBS AND GROWTH, SUSTAINABILITY and GENDER EQUALITY. The sections on jobs and sustainability each draw a narrative from the source of the finance – an individual pension investor in both cases – through the great process of bond issuance and lending, until our story reaches the final beneficiary. There you’ll meet the woman in Croatia whose job as an engineer was created by that complex mechanism and the inspirational microfinance leader making such a vital difference on the ground in Senegal. In the gender equality section, you’ll find a range of projects, each of which contributes to the security or advancement of women in EIB deals from India to Ireland.

Underlying all this is our ambition to tell you about the EIB’s sustainable approach to creating opportunity for EU citizens and for people in developing countries. This is the story of what we set out to do in 2018. As we look back on the year, we can say with confidence and pride: OPPORTUNITY DELIVERED.

Table of Contents

1. 1. HOW THIS REPORT IS STRUCTURED
2. 2. FOREWORD
3. 3. 2018 HIGHLIGHTS
4. 4. JOBS AND GROWTH
5. BONDS THAT BIND US TOGETHER
   1. A TEACHER WITH GLOBAL REACH
   2. GREENBACKS THAT BACK GREEN
   3. FUNDING THE EU BANK
   4. IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? IT’S VENTURE DEBT!
   5. TARGET MET
   6. WHERE DO YOU BUY INNOVATION?
   7. WHICH COMES FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE BATTERY?
   8. THE WORLD’S FASTEST ELECTRIC CAR – AND WHEELCHAIR?
   9. CLEANING UP THE ADRIATIC AND THE CAR INDUSTRY
6. 5. SUSTAINABILITY
7. THE LONG AND URGENT ROAD
   1. RAISED IN A SPECIAL PLACE
   2. A DUTY TO PROTECT THE FUTURE
   3. NEW BONDS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
   4. BETTER SANITATION, HEALTHIER CHILDREN
   5. SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE LONG TERM
   6. AN ACTIVIST SINCE CHILDHOOD
   7. A MICRO-CREDIT FOUNDATION WORKS TO LIFT PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY
8. 6. GENDER EQUALITY
9. JUST TRY DISMISSING HALF OF THE PLANET
   1. DESIGNS ON A FUTURE
   2. (RENEWABLE) GIRL POWER
   3. MICRO-LOANS WITH A BIG IMPACT
   4. AT THE FOREFRONT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HEALTH
10. 7. WHAT’S NEXT

FOREWORD

In its 60^th year of operations, the European Investment Bank encountered an environment in need of strong European support and beacons of stability. European values and multilateralism came under fire from parochial nationalism. At the same time, the Bank had to respond to changing economic circumstances, the ongoing decline in European competitiveness and a shortfall in innovation finance.

I am proud of the fact that the EIB Group has navigated these hazards with an agility and responsiveness not usually associated with large, venerable institutions. This report details the impact the EIB made during the year on the key issues of our day, such as competitiveness, jobs, gender equality and sustainability. We reached out to new partners, sought out new clients and investigated new ideas. We worked under constant pressure caused by external events, such as Brexit and the consequent need to secure our capital requirements. The EIB has emerged from this year stronger than ever before, and it delivered new investments that will be a source of jobs and sustainable growth for decades ahead. We continue to invest in Europe’s future.

Jobs and growth are the overarching aims of the Investment Plan for Europe, and in 2018 the EIB more than hit its targets on both pillars of the Plan for which the EU bank is responsible. Ahead of the scheduled three years, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) reached its €315 billion target for investment triggered. It did so with a regional balance across the EU. Its biggest direct impact is in the countries hardest hit by the financial crisis. In the cohesion regions, our economic analysis shows that EFSI has a tremendous long-term impact, enhancing competitiveness and boosting future economic growth.

EFSI de-risked investment and acted as a catalyst for private financing: the European Commission provided a guarantee that allowed the EIB Group to use its own funds to make loans for riskier projects than it normally would and to crowd-in private sector investors. EFSI focused on innovative sectors and small businesses, where the need was most acute. (Note that I refer to the EIB Group’s delivery on EFSI because the European Investment Fund has been a powerful force in supporting the vital small and medium-sized businesses sector under the Investment Plan for Europe.) EFSI will continue to work in the sectors and regions where it is most needed, as we move towards our next target of €500 billion of triggered investment by 2020.

The second pillar of the Investment Plan, Advisory Services, made a bigger and ever more crucial contribution to Europe’s future growth and innovation in 2018. Advisory worked on 528 new assignments in 2018, for projects that will support an estimated investment of €45 billion. Key to the work of this area of the Bank, of course, is the early stage at which Advisory provides expertise, helping to get innovative projects off the drawing board and making them a reality.

To accomplish all this, the EIB Group has changed. While it is the final impact of EFSI on EU citizens that is most important, I am proud that our bankers, lawyers, economists, risk managers and engineers adapted their own work so successfully to this new challenge. T...

Table of contents

• 1. HOW THIS REPORT IS STRUCTURED
• 2. FOREWORD
• 3. 2018 HIGHLIGHTS
• 4. JOBS AND GROWTH
• 5. SUSTAINABILITY
• 6. GENDER EQUALITY
• 7. WHAT’S NEXT