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www.housingeurope.eu/section-176/european-investment-bank : 21-12-2024

European Investment Bank Loans

What is in there for our sector?

The EIB Group comprises the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). While the EIB extends long-term financing to support EU policies, notably the Cohesion policy, the EIF specializes in providing risk finance to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe. It is noteworthy that the EIF's primary shareholder is the EIB.

The EIB Group is a pivotal institution in EU financing. It not only has the capacity to finance projects using its own capital resources but also manages a substantial portion of EU funding from the EU budget, as exemplified by InvestEU. Furthermore, being an EU institution with expertise in financing, it plays a significant role in offering advice regarding the utilization of other EU funds. This includes initiatives such as Jessica for Cohesion funding, the EU advisory hub, and direct support to project promoters.

Eligibility

Egibility criteria for EIB financing in the area of social and affordable housing

  • social and affordable rental housing 
  • refugee accommodation/ reception centres, associated infrastructure and start-up costs (typically provided during the asylum process)
  • student accommodation/ accommodation for apprentices
  • social and affordable rental housing involving equity sharing, rent-to-buy; partial ownership approaches (where justified by clear market failures and public policy)

Type of financing

  1. Loans

The EIB typically covers up to 50% of a project’s total cost with loans starting at €25 million and even lower amounts in some cases. However, for energy efficiency investments, it can go up to 75% of the capital cost[10].

  • Individual loans for the public sector (starting at €25 million) to finance a single large investment project or investment programmes.
  • Individual loans for private sector entities (typically start at €25 million and in certain cases, the EIB will consider lower amounts) to finance projects or investment programmes.
  • Framework loans for the public sector: Flexible loans to finance an investment programme consisting of smaller projects.
  • Intermediate loans: Loans to financial institutions that subsequently "on-lend" to final beneficiaries. For SMEs and mid-caps or for other priorities, such as financing small EE and RE projects.
  • Equity finance

The EIB provides finance for economically viable projects that are aligned with its policy goals, primarily investing or co-investing along with certain funds. In some cases, the Bank also provides direct quasi-equity financing to support innovative companies in seek of financing to grow.

Guarantees

The EIB provides a range of guarantee instruments that can mitigate risks associated with individual or multiple projects. These EIB guarantees serve to facilitate increased financing opportunities for SMEs or mid-cap companies by absorbing a portion of potential losses arising from a portfolio of loans. Additionally, in specific instances, the EIB may extend its guarantees to cover potential losses linked to a particular project, thereby encouraging additional investments.

Advisory services

The European Investment Bank provides comprehensive advisory services aimed at identifying, preparing, and executing sustainable investment projects across Europe and globally. These services encompass all phases of the project cycle and extend beyond, facilitating the realization of investment projects both within the European Union and worldwide.

Example: European Alliance – France

The European Investment Bank (EIB), Banque des Territoires, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), and Union Sociale pour l'Habitat have partnered to make it easier for social housing organisations to secure European finance for long-term investments in public social infrastructure. Through the Banque des Territoires, a first round of €650 million in EIB and CEB financing will be made available to social housing groups as a supplement to its regulated loans as part of this cooperation.

  • The €500 million EIB loan aims to accelerate the construction of social housing amid a challenging economic environment by enabling Banque des Territoires to expand its offering of fixed-rate “Booster” loans to include maturities of 35 and 40 years. 
  • The €150 million CEB loan, a renewal of an existing contract that brings its total commitment to €300 million, aims to strengthen Banque des Territoires’ offering of supplementary loans to finance decent housing, in particular for vulnerable people, assisted living accommodation and social and healthcare facilities.

This alliance affirms Banque des Territoires’ role in mobilising European resources from the CEB and the EIB for investment in social housing in France, on the basis of bilateral financing agreements entered into by these various long-term lenders. This intermediation mechanism's objective is to guarantee that French social housing providers have easy, consistent, and fair access to European funds that are available for all social infrastructure investment projects, regardless of size or location.

How to apply?

Application for investments below 25 million eur through national intermediaries: https://www.eib.org/intermediarieslist/search/index

Application for investments of min 25 million eur through the Project Directorate directly:

Contact person: Edouard Perard, Head of Division for Urban Development
E.PERARD@eib.org

More info: http://www.eib.org/projects/cycle/applying_loan/index.htm