The European Investment Bank (EIB) says that it has proved to be a "solid pillar of financial strength and stability" in last year’s exceptionally difficult economic environment.

The EIB increased its total lending volume in 2009 to 79 billion euro, a 37 per cent increase from 58 billion euro in 2008. This represents a new milestone in providing financial support for the European economy, the bank said in a media statement.

"The EIB, as the EU’s Bank and the largest multilateral financing institution, delivered in 2009 an unprecedented volume of effective, quick and large-scale funding for measures to combat the economic crisis, without sacrificing financial prudence," EIB Vice-President Plutarchos Sakellaris told a March 2 2010 news conference in Athens.

"In the coming years, and especially in 2010, we will dedicate our product mix and expertise in support of recovery," Sakellaris said.

Compared to pre-crisis levels, the EIB has substantially increased its financing volumes.

In 2009, the EIB reinforced its focus on SMEs, economically weaker regions across Europe ("convergence regions") and the energy sector in the context of the fight against climate change, the bank said.

Funding included 13 billion euro in credit lines to intermediary banks for targeted lending to SMEs, an increase of 55 per cent compared to the year before. This activity benefited more than 50 000 SMEs across Europe, according to the EIB.

Other funding included 29 billion euro (a 36 per cent increase from 21 billion euro in 2008) accounting for 37 per cent of the bank’s total lending volume - was to convergence regions. The lending was geographically well-balanced across the EU, with the new member states receiving 13 billion euro, the bank said.

Fifteen billion euro in funding was aimed at mitigating climate change, through financing projects contributing to the reduction of the volume of CO 2 emissions: renewable energy (4.2 billion euro), energy efficiency (1.5 billion euro), R&D for cleaner transport ( 4.7 billion euro) and investment in urban transport (5.5 billion euro).

The EIB said that it provided "solid support to the real economy in Greece".
 
In 2009 the EIB provided a total of 1.6 billion euro, up 33 per cent compared to 1.2 billion euro in 2008.

Sakellaris said: "In Greece in 2009 our key policy was to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Our funding was amplified by the synergies created with most major Greek banks.

"This partnership aimed at restoring growth that can only come from strong and flourishing enterprises. We maintained our firm support to the country’s major economic infrastructure mainly in transport and energy, targeting growth leverage. I am also pleased that in 2009 we inaugurated a new era in smaller infrastructure investments in Greece, in sectors other than transport, procured as public-private partnerships".

In 2009 the EIB joined forces with eight major Greek banks to support the real economy in order to counteract the impact of the crisis by easing SME funding in this difficult period, the EIB statement said.

The EIB provided slightly more than a billion euro to support SMEs and small and medium-scale infrastructure investments to be carried out by private or public bodies, including local authorities, as well as beneficiaries of any size.

Financing was for investments in the fields of industry, tourism, services, the knowledge economy, energy and environmental protection in Greece.

The EIB also provided 19 million euro for a larger industrial project .

The loan was for modernising Elval Group’s aluminium processing plants at Oinofyta. Elval Group produces aluminium rolled and extrusion products. Symetal produces and sells aluminium foil products for flexible packaging and food products as well as converted aluminium foil for the same applications. The main investment concerned a new foil rolling mill as well as civil works and the necessary ancillary equipment. The project also included significant environmental investment.

In addition, the EIB provided further support towards quality of life through urban development and a friendlier city environment. In particular, the Bank provided a total of 250 million euro for the design, construction, testing and commissioning of the first phase of the metro system in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece and a major business centre for the southern Balkans.

The further development of quality metro systems in the metropolitan areas of Athens and Thessaloniki (where more than about 60 per cent of the Greek population lives) will improve quality of life by reducing reliance on the car/bus road transport modes with their harmful environmental implications. The EIB has been supporting the development of the metro systems in Greece with a total of nearly  2.2 billion euro since 1991.

Since it began operations in Greece, the EIB has paid special attention to transport due to the peripheral location and fragmented geomorphology of the country.

In 2009, the Bank extended 55 million euro for the modernisation and extension of Pier 1 of the Port of Piraeus, which is Greece’s main sea gateway and an important trans-shipment hub towards other Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea countries.

Linked to north-south transport corridors it can be a hub for the Greek hinterland and the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. It is a European priority project that is fully in line with our transport lending policy and supports the modal shift towards more energy-efficient and environmental-friendly transport .

For energy, a total of 250 million euro went to the Greek Public Power Corporation for the extension and reinforcement of the Greek transmission and distribution networks, covering the whole range from high tension (400kV) down to low tension.

With a 10 million euro loan for the Hellenic Fire Services the EIB inaugurated a new phase for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in sectors other than transport in Greece.

The EIB launched the PPP financing structure in Greece with the new Athens Airport in 1996.

Since then the country has financed a series of flagship large-scale infrastructure projects through PPPs.

Over the past four years, the EIB has worked closely with the Greek authorities to expand the PPP model to smaller infrastructure projects.

This new loan for fire stations throughout the country was the culmination of these common efforts. It opened the way for a number of new projects to come.

The project included the design, construction, insurance, maintenance and operation of seven fire department buildings in Alexandroupolis, Giannitsa, Veroia, Lefkada, Kalavryta, Gargalianoi and Thessaloniki, according to the EIB statement.