EIB lends 77 billion euros for investment support in 2014
Xinhua, February 23, 2015 Adjust font size:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided loans amounting to 77 billion euros to support investment across Europe and around the world, the EIB said on Monday.
According to the EIB, loans to projects in EU member states came to 69 billion euros, representing 90 percent of the total.
In addition, 3.3 billion euros of commitments by the European Investment Fund (EIF), which belongs to the EIB Group, leveraged 14 billion euros of capital to enhance access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and midcaps.
Within the EU, the largest volume of EIB lending for long-term investment was in Spain with 11.9 billion euros, followed by Italy with 10.9 billion euros, France with 8.2 billion euros, Germany with 7.7 billion euros, and Britain with 7 billion euros.
The EIB remained committed to countries worst hit by the crisis, providing new lending totalling 1.6 billion euros in Greece, 1.3 billion euros in Portugal, and 932 million euros in Ireland.
"The EIB Group is continuing to step up its response to the crisis. In 2014 our reinforced engagement made a real difference to people's lives in Europe and beyond. It has helped increase the generation of sustainable energy, and enabled small and medium-sized companies to invest and remain competitive," said EIB President Werner Hoyer. Enditem