- By extending their partnership on social housing – which was signed in 2013 – Caisse des Dépôts and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are working on a facility for intermediate housing to make support for affordable housing in France more comprehensive.
- As part of the building support plan launched in 2023 by CDC Habitat – a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts – the EIB is providing a €500 million loan to support the construction of intermediate housing. This loan will help to fund the construction of around 3 500 homes.
- The EIB and Bpifrance – a subsidiary of the French government and of Caisse des Dépôts – are together providing €500 million to support renewable energy.
The Caisse des Dépôts Group and the EIB Group have announced that they will strengthen their partnership by putting in place three new credit lines to address priorities for Europe, namely affordable housing (to respond to Europe’s housing crisis) and the green transition (to boost Europe's competitiveness).
Since the partnership agreement between the Caisse des Dépôts Group and the EIB was signed in 2013, the two financial institutions have continued to strengthen their collaborative efforts to support public policies on the national and the European level. This partnership benefits local and regional authorities of all sizes, as well as social housing projects and businesses in a number of ways, including by providing financing and technical assistance. As a result of this partnership, nearly €25 billion in EIB financing or co-financing has been unlocked within the Caisse des Dépôts Group via the Banque des Territoires network, CDC Habitat, and Bpifrance.
Housing is a key area of cooperation between the two institutions, given the major role that Caisse des Dépôts plays in financing the housing sector in France and the operational priorities of the EIB and the European Commission, which has announced a European plan for affordable housing.
Caisse des Dépôts – via Banque des Territoires – and the EIB are committed to the European Union's support plan for affordable housing. Given their significant roles in developing intermediate housing, Banque des Territoires and the EIB are exploring the possibility of financing projects to build intermediate rental housing. EU funds from the EIB – which will be intermediated by Banque des Territoires to finance projects in all regions – will supplement the bank's intermediate rental loan (PLI) that is indexed to the Livret A savings account. In this way, the two institutions are joining forces to roll out facilities that have already seen great success with regard to the construction and renovation of social housing.
In response to the housing crisis, the CDC Habitat group put in place a building support plan in 2023, which involved commissioning the construction of 17 000 homes, of which 12 000 were to become intermediate rental units and 5 000 social housing units. This support plan saw €3.5 billion of investment. It aims to support housing operations in areas that are particularly affected by a chronic shortage of housing, and where supply cannot satisfy demand.
In light of this, the EIB is supporting CDC Habitat’s efforts to build more intermediate housing and has approved a loan package worth €500 million. This will help fund the construction of approximately 3 500 homes, raising the projected investment to over €1 billion. These homes meet the criteria for sustainable housing because they have certain technical features and offer social value associated with intermediate housing. For instance, they are in line with the most recent environmental regulation and limit urban sprawl, their rents are capped, residents’ income must not exceed a certain amount, and the housing will meet legal integration requirements. These homes will be commissioned between 2025 and 2027.
In the area of corporate finance, the EIB and Bpifrance will strengthen their well-established partnership. The EIB and Bpifrance have announced a €500 million financing agreement to support renewable energy projects in France and Europe. This financing agreement further demonstrates the commitment of both institutions to promoting economic growth and sustainable development.[1]
This partnership combines the EIB's financial strength and strategic vision with the Bpifrance bank’s commitment to climate action. It provided €20 billion in financing between 2020 and 2023, and plans to inject €35 billion into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps by 2029 to help them meet the challenges posed by the green energy transition.
This agreement highlights the EIB's unwavering commitment to supporting the transition to green energy, which fuels innovation and economic growth. This funding is intended for initiatives that encourage the adoption of technologies that are related to renewable energy. This puts France at the forefront of the global transition to sustainable energy.
"Thanks to our partnership with the EIB, we are able to strengthen our support for affordable housing and ensure that the services we offer are comprehensive to meet the needs of different regions, and in doing so help respond to Europe's housing crisis. This partnership will also enable us to develop the renewable energy services that Bpifrance offers over the course of this year,” said Director General of CDC Olivier Sichel.
“These new financing operations with Bpifrance and CDC Habitat provide new ways to take action in France in two of Europe’s priority areas. Firstly, they will help to build homes to respond to the chronic shortage in this area, while promoting energy efficiency in the housing sector. Secondly, they will enable us to develop the renewable energy sector to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy. These long-term investments are both economically and socially beneficial and contribute to the development of a more sustainable and resilient economy in Europe, which forms the basis of the partnership between the EIB and CDC that has been in place now for over a decade,” explained EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.
Background information
EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.
Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB's financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.
In 2024, the EIB provided €7 billion to support renewable energy, clean mobility and energy efficiency in France, which accounts for 69% of its total financing in the country.
Caisse des Dépôts Group
Caisse des Dépôts and its subsidiaries are a state-owned group and a long-term investor serving the public interest and promoting regional economic development.
It has five areas of expertise: social policies (retirement, vocational training, disability, old age and health), asset management, monitoring subsidiaries and holdings, corporate financing (with Bpifrance), and Banque des Territoires.