- A new credit line to improve local authorities’ access to small and medium-sized investments.
- A step forward for the joint initiative launched in 2013 to revitalise sustainable investment projects throughout France.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Banque des Territoires are making a new €500 million credit line available. With this financing, the fourth of its kind, Banque des Territoires can continue to provide the public sector with fixed-rate loans in addition to its traditional products and services. This move confirms the strength of the partnership struck by Caisse des Dépôts and the EIB in June 2013 to provide green transition investment projects throughout France with fresh impetus.
This programme makes EU funding highly accessible for local-authority investment projects of less than €25 million. It follows on from three previous deals signed in 2015, 2019 and 2020, which brought €2.8 billion of financing to the French public sector. This new line goes in tandem with a strengthened commitment to climate action, with at least half of the amount intended for projects that help combat or mitigate the effects of global warming.
These EIB funds will improve access to long-term finance for small-scale investments, particularly in energy-efficiency measures for buildings, urban regeneration, water supply and sewerage networks, education, sustainable mobility and clean public transport.
This financing expands Banque des Territoires’ range of loans for the public sector and its products that are index-linked to the Livret A, a government-sponsored savings account. The ultimate goal is to boost the green transition. This financial partnership embodies the strong fit between Banque des Territoires and the EIB in how they support sustainable investment at regional level.
“This financing shows the determination of the EIB — the EU climate bank — to promote greener and more sustainable public facilities, making a very real contribution to the regional green transition,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. This facet of our partnership with Banque des Territoires enables the EIB to facilitate the financing of small and medium-sized local-authority investment projects.”
“The renewal of Banque des Territoires’ partnership with the EIB has the joint goal of financing projects leading to the sustainable transformation of France. Banque des Territoires offers favourable access to EU funds to all French authorities to help them with the challenges of the green transition. Our partnership will serve to accelerate this sea change,” added Caisse des Dépôts CEO Eric Lombard.
Background information
About the European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) was created by the Treaty of Rome and founded in 1958. It is the long-term financing institution of the European Union, and its shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. The EIB’s remit is to contribute towards the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the EU Member States. It borrows large volumes of funds on the capital markets and lends them on very favourable terms to support projects that contribute to attaining the European Union’s objectives. As the EU climate bank, it aims to encourage the emergence and deployment of new technologies to meet ongoing challenges such as the energy transition to a new low-carbon growth model. In 2021, the EIB devoted more than two-thirds of its investment volumes to climate-related projects, and more than one-third (€3.6 billion) to innovation.
About Banque des Territoires
Set up in 2018, Banque des Territoires is one of the five arms of Caisse des Dépôts. It brings in-house regional expertise together within a single structure. It is a single point of entry for clients, providing made-to-measure advice and financing solutions for loans and investments to meet the needs of local authorities, social housing associations, local public enterprises and legal professionals. It is aimed at all French regions, from rural areas to large cities, with the objective of eliminating social and regional inequalities. Banque des Territoires is represented by 16 regional offices and 37 local branches of Caisse des Dépôts to enhance visibility and proximity to its client base.
