31 January 2020

POLITICO: EU bank rides out Brexit impact ‘surprisingly well’, says EIB chief

Economic uncertainty caused by the United Kingdom’s imminent departure from the EU did not prevent the EIB from having a record-breaking year in 2019, according to the bank’s president.

The EIB is owned by the EU member states and the UK’s decision to leave has raised doubts over what would happen to its 16% stake in the bank, which is the joint highest share along with Italy, France and Germany.

But Hoyer said he was “extremely happy and grateful that the member states decided to fully replace proportionately the British capital,” adding that the bank’s maximum level of lending would have dropped by €100 billion without the agreement.

The EIB’s metamorphosis into the EU’s climate bank is a crucial part of the new European Commission’s green line of policymaking and it has pledged to allocate at least 50% of its financing to climate action by 2025.

Last year proved to be a solid stepping stone towards that benchmark, as 31% of the bank’s activities had a green tilt. Hoyer pointed out that the bank’s target for the end of the decade was just 25%.

Asked what he thinks the figure should be in 12 months’ time, the president replied that “we do not want to go backwards in 2020, so 31% is the minimum. I’m convinced that we’ll be far above that and that we’ll meet 50%.”

The Luxembourg-based lender is counting on its recently updated energy policy to push it towards the 50% goal, given that it largely precludes fossil fuels from financing from the end of this year.

Loopholes exist though for certain infrastructure and any fossil fuel projects already on the bank’s books will remain eligible for cash injections.

But the EIB’s transport policy has not been reviewed yet and environmental groups insist that it runs against the bank’s pledge to make all of its activities compliant with the Paris Agreement.

Full article on POLITICO

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