EIF: 10 years, 10bn euros, 10 new Member States

As the European Investment Fund celebrates its 10th anniversary today, its portfolio reaches almost EUR 10 billion in operations committed to supporting small businesses and innovation across Europe.

Luxembourg, 14 June 2004 - EIF, a EU financial body and member of the EIB Group, was created in 1994 in response to an invitation from the Edinburgh summit of December 1992. Already since its inception, EIF has been shaped as a public-private partnership, with a hybrid shareholder base that today includes the European Investment Bank (59.6%), the European Commission (30%), and 31 European financial institutions (10.4%). Since the 2000 reform where the EIB became the main shareholder, EIF operates through venture capital investments and SME guarantees (securitisation, microcredit guarantees) and has impacted over 250 000 SMEs in 22 countries. Recently, EIF has launched new advisory services whereby it provides advice based in particular on its expertise as an investor and/or as guarantor.

The steady increase of the activity volume lies in EIF ability to match its twofold main operational objectives, pursuing community goals and generating appropriate financial returns, while being at the same time at the crossroads of market forces and the EU institutional setting.

EIF is particularly committed to the Lisbon Process initiated in 2000 which aims at transforming the European Union into the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, recently reinforced by the European Action for Growth Initiative to support growth and integration by increasing overall investment and private sector involvement notably in major R&D projects.

EIF Chief Executive, Mr Francis Carpenter declared: This 10 years anniversary is an important milestone. Today, EIF becomes a teenager, robust and more experienced than ever, but with a long way to walk and many routes to explore. I am confident that along the principles of creativity, reactivity, increased synergies than have prevailed this last decade, we have prepare the grounds to continuing building-up this unique institutional and operational platform in an expanding Europe.

For the future, the Fund will continue to explore new types of financial instruments in support of EU policies, in particular SME finance and innovation.

EIF benefits from a Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) status and triple-A rating.