BONDS THAT BIND US TOGETHER

What’s the bond between Harry, a high-school teacher in Santa Monica, California, and Elizabeta, a junior battery engineer in Croatia? The answer is, quite literally, a bond. That is, a fixed-income financial instrument issued by the European Investment Bank. Join us on a journey to follow the money from the Golden Coast to the Adriatic coast, and back (with interest).

Harry Keiley is a teacher in Santa Monica, California. Every month, around 10% of his salary goes into his pension fund.

Harry’s pension fund buys financial instruments across the globe. Among them: bonds issued by the EIB. Why does CalSTRS invest in these bonds, and more specifically why does the fund also purchase EIB green bonds?

Besides pension funds such as CalSTRS, who buys EIB bonds and what drives these purchases?

One of the EIB instruments brought to the fore with the Investment Plan for Europe is venture debt, a loan that shares some of the risks entrepreneurs face in developing their business. Why is it called quasi-equity?

The EIB combines the money from issuing bonds with other instruments to create different financial products. One such instrument is a guarantee from the EU budget that supports the European Fund for Strategic Investments. Part of the Investment Plan for Europe, this allows the EIB to invest in smaller, riskier and younger firms. How successful has it been?

The Bank focuses on four main areas of investment. Innovation is one of them. When we invest in innovation, what do we actually finance?

Innovation in the automotive sector is currently focused on two areas: electrification and autonomous driving. How are the world’s fastest electric sports cars, which can reach 410 km/h, helping all of us use more environmentally responsible transport?

Rimac, a Croatian company that the EIB financed in 2018, produces the world’s fastest electric sports cars – and great advances in battery technology.

Find out how Elizabeta Žalac, a junior battery engineer, got a job at Rimac and is trying to change the world.