President Hoyer’s speech at the Board of Governors annual meeting

Governors, Ministers, Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis, Dear Members of the Audit Committee and Board of Directors, Dear Colleagues,

It has been a great pleasure for me to lead this Bank and EIB Group over the last twelve years, guiding it through sometimes troubled or undiscovered waters, in reacting to different crises – the economic crisis, Brexit, the pandemic, even a war on our continent.

And while none of this could have been expected, your Bank delivered. Building on the experience, creativity and determination of its staff, crises were turned into opportunities and opportunities into reality, to show that Europe has the means and mindset to react strongly – if and when needed.

Governors,

The EIB – your Bank – is a powerful instrument to finding common, European answers to the challenges we face. Make use of it. That’s my message to you today.

Financials

Your Bank finds itself in an excellent condition, signatures and disbursements are running very well, we have a good stock of approved operations, the capital adequacy is outstanding with a CET1 ratio currently standing above 36%, more than double the average of ECB supervised banks, and we have a very solid overall financial performance.

I am convinced that you as shareholders cannot only be proud of the Bank because of what it delivers, but also because of how it delivers.

The EIB is one of the best in class among Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), when it comes to the sound management of risks, internal controls, and the application of banking regulation and related tools and processes.

I am not saying this lightly. And, of course, I am aware that like every institution we can and must do even better in how we operate. But the big picture is this: the EIB is the only MDB in the world that operates within the framework of best banking practices. And while no institution is ever safe from individual mistakes, I think we can all be proud of the professionalism of our staff that has made the Bank not just a front runner in backing high impact projects, but also in doing so while maintaining excellent financial metrics.

Impact and sound banking are not two opposite ends of a spectrum!

Governors,

Let me use this moment to explicitly thank the Audit Committee for the excellent cooperation over the years. Your recommendations are an important source of advice for us in the Management Committee and we value it enormously.

Based on all metrics, the EIB has the potential to deliver more – and I can only encourage you, our governors, as I do every year, to make use of it. Not out of megalomania, don’t get me wrong, but because I am convinced that you have a powerful tool at your fingertips that can play a role in helping Europe and its Member States to succeed in a challenging global environment.

Annual results

2022 has been a challenging year for Europe and the world, marked by the slow phasing out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the surge in energy prices, geopolitical tensions and a war in our neighborhood. Despite these difficulties, the EIB Group has delivered on its mission to support investment and innovation in Europe and beyond, contributing to a sustainable recovery and resilience of our economies and societies.

Last year, the Group – EIB and EIF together – provided over €72 billion of financing for projects that address key investment challenges. This represents an increase of 12% compared to 2021 and reflects our strong commitment to supporting the green and digital transitions in Europe and globally.

One of our top priorities was to support the energy sector which received €19 billion of financing.

Among the projects supported, I would like to highlight a €400 million loan for solar PV and wind farms on the Iberian peninsula and  the upgrade of the Czech electricity grid with a loan of €790 million, our largest loan in that country.

I would also mention three loans for the first commercial floating windfarms in France – a technological innovation first demonstrated in Portugal, incidentally in another project we backed a few years ago.

To contribute to the goal of reducing reliance on imported Russian oil and gas, we also launched our own initiative in support of REPowerEU, pledging additional lending to renewable energy, energy efficiency and power network projects until at least 2027.

And we are delivering on this.

Already this year, some 40 sustainable energy projects have been signed for an EIB commitment of nearly €5 billion.

Just yesterday, the Board of Directors approved three more: new windfarms in Estonia, a pilot Lithium-Ion battery factory in Greece and a breakthrough solar panel manufacturing plant in Italy. And many more projects are in the pipeline.

Apart from energy and climate – which accounted for more than half of the Bank’s activities in line with our climate bank ambition – innovation and digitalisation remained high on our agenda last year. The EIB Group invested a total of €18 billion in innovation projects in 2022, representing 23% of our total activity.

We supported projects in sectors as diverse as life sciences, biotechnology, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and many other areas.

I should not forget that Europe’s defence also received support. While the EIB does not finance guns or explosives – for very good reasons – we do back European security with financing in dual-use sectors, which often includes cutting edge technologies that have a civilian application such as aerospace – think of drones or satellites – and cyber-security.

Here, too, we exceeded our targets and delivered well over €1 billion last year.

And our board just approved that we step up our activities in this area. I am confident that this will provide the push needed at the current juncture.

Governors,

I can only invite you to visit your Bank over the coming months and to speak to our experts. Hearing about some of innovative projects from the teams on the ground will be worth your time. I have no doubt about that.  It’s a fascinating look into the European innovation eco-system and into the difference that your Bank makes in pushing high-quality/high-impact projects.

Let me say that I am very grateful for the good teamwork with the European Commission with whom we are cooperating a lot in this area. And I am glad to report that the implementation of InvestEU, the EU’s flagship investment programme, is well on track.

Outside EU

In addition to our activities within the EU, we also expanded our operations outside the EU in 2022, especially in regions that face significant development challenges and opportunities. Last year, we provided roughly €10 billion of financing for projects outside the EU, mainly in Ukraine, the Southern Neighborhood, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Neighborhood countries.

We focused on sectors of high strategic importance such as climate, health, education, water and sanitation, transport, energy and private sector development.

A big part of this important work is currently at risk as we have still not managed to advance on the issue of a successor to the so-called Cotonou framework – which provides the Bank with license to operate in close to 80 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

I have alerted you to this problem in a letter and I am grateful for your and your teams’ support in this matter.

It would be a blow to the Union’s position in the world if a big part of its external financial support were to cease!

Governors, the decision to set-up EIB Global, our newly established lending arm for outside EU activities, was, as you know, taken before the war in Ukraine, after a lengthy, sometimes painful debate.

But the value of maintaining a financial entity which is 100% owned by the EU is now clear for all to see.

To my mind, the creation of EIB Global was spot on!

After all, the war in Ukraine is not only about the survival of Europe as we know it. It is about Europe’s place in the wider world where Russian soldiers and propaganda continue to undermine EU presence and influence.

China is also competing hard for hearts and minds and economic resources globally.

With EIB Global, we have given you, our shareholders, the Members of the EU, an instrument to pursue Europe’s interests through concrete investment projects around the world.

And there is no trade-off between what the Bank does inside the EU and outside the EU, as we insist on full cost-coverage in everything we do.

Ukraine

Governors,

One of the most important regions for us outside the EU these days is Ukraine. In the wake of Russia's unprovoked military aggression, the EIB has taken decisive action by approving several financial support packages in the past year to aid the Ukrainian authorities and its people.

In 2022, we provided €1.5 billion of financing for projects that help rebuild Ukraine's damaged infrastructure, improve public services, enhance energy security and efficiency, and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

These are all areas where the EIB makes a difference and where it complements the EU’s Macro financial Assistance. Our funds flow directly into investment projects on the ground that allow the Ukraine economy to keep on running.

Recognising the value of the Bank’s work in the country and the urgency of the situation, the European Council has called upon the EIB to further enhance its support for critical and pressing investments in Ukraine.

This is not an easy ask as our normal way to operate in the country is under the cover of the EU budget, which, as you know, does not have any resources for such projects left.

To ensure that we can operate in Ukraine in 2024 and beyond, it is therefore absolutely necessary that this issue is resolved, that the Bank receives dedicated budget guarantees again and that this is done quickly.

For the short term, I am grateful for the commitment made by many of you to provide funds to our “EU for Ukraine” Trust Fund. The initiative builds a bridge for us until new EU resources become available and allows us to respond to the leaders' call for now.

Governors, Ministers,

These were some of the highlights of our achievements in 2022.

I would like to thank all my colleagues in the Management Committee, our staff, shareholders, partners, clients and investors, for their dedication, trust and cooperation in making these results possible.

The EIB Group – and I personally – remain fully committed to supporting investment and innovation in Europe and beyond, and to contributing to a greener, more digital, and more resilient future for us all.

Thank you for your attention.