Isabel Martín Castellá appointed new Vice-President

Isabel MARTÍN CASTELLÁ has been appointed new Vice-President of the European Investment Bank by the Bank's Board of Governors. She takes up her duties today, 18 September 2000. Ms MARTÍN CASTELLÁ is succeeding Mr Luís MARTÍ ESPLUGA whose term of office recently expired.

As Commercial and Economic Adviser to the State, Isabel MARTÍN CASTELLÁ brings extensive banking experience to the EIB, having dedicated 16 years of her professional life to this sector. After graduating in Economics from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, she held several posts in the Secretariat of State for Commerce, moving on in 1985 to the National Institute for Industry (Instituto Nacional de Industria, INI) where she was responsible for relations with the European Communities. From 1986 to 1988, she was also member of the EU's Social and Economic Committee, representing the public sector. She has also sat on the Board of Directors of various INI Group industrial companies, as well as of Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES) and Compañía Española de Seguro de Crédito a la Exportación (CESCE).

In 1987, she joined Banco Hispanoamericano as Deputy General Manager for International Finance, a position which she continued to occupy at Banco Central Hispano (BCH) and then at Banco Santander Central Hispano (BSCH) following the successive mergers between these financial institutions. In this capacity, she has made an active contribution to many of the recent developments on international financial markets and the privatisation processes which have taken place in various countries, especially in Latin America.

The EIB's Management Committee is composed of the President and seven Vice-Presidents appointed by the Bank's Board of Governors on a proposal from the Board of Directors. A collegiate executive body, the Management Committee oversees day-to-day business at the EIB, recommends financing decisions, as well as management and lending policy decisions to the Board of Directors and ensures that these are implemented. A Vice-President's term of office is for six years.