Nicolas Francois

European Investment Bank (EIB)

As the EU bank, we provide finance and expertise for sustainable investment projects that contribute to EU policy objectives and make a strong impact on people's lives in Europe and beyond. The EU's bank The EIB is the European Union's bank. We are the only bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States. We work closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy. A major player As the largest multilateral borrower and lender by volume, we provide finance and expertise for sound and sustainable investment projects which contribute to furthering EU policy objectives. More than 90% of our activity is focused on Europe but we also implement the financial aspects of the EU's external and development policies. Lending, blending and advising Lending: The vast majority of our financing is through loans, but we also offer guarantees, microfinance, equity investment, etc. Blending: Our support helps us unlock financing from other sources, particularly from the EU budget. This is blended together to form the full financing package. Advising: Lack of finance is often only one barrier to investment. We can help with administrative and project management capacity which facilitates investment implementation.