EIB President Philippe Maystadt signed today in Budapest two innovative operations with Hungarian partners. He commented on the occasion of the signature: “Today is a double first for the cooperation between Hungary and the EIB. Hungary is the first new Member State in which the EIB is using its Structured Finance Facility to accept a higher lending risk. At the same time, the Bank is providing the first loan to support research, development and innovation dissemination projects to facilitate the Lisbon process aimed at the establishment of a knowledge-based society in Europe. In addition, the intermediated loan of EUR 50 million provided yesterday to CIB Bank, which will onlend the EIB funds to finance municipal and SME projects, is a good example of the EIB’s fruitful cooperation with the Hungarian banking sector”.

The counter-guarantee operation of HUF 13 billion (EUR 52 million) to Hitelgarancia will improve the access of Hungarian municipalities and municipal associations to long-term financing. It is being implemented in the framework of the EIB’s effort to accept higher lending risks for financing priority projects by drawing on its Structured Finance Facility (SFF).

This facility is being used in a new Member State for the first time. It will broaden the Bank’s range of lending products to include operations with a risk profile higher than that of standard EIB loans. It will help to finance smaller projects that are important for regional development in the areas of transport and environmental infrastructure, and services, including tourism, usually promoted by local authorities.

The EUR 165 million loan will help to implement the 2005-2007 investment programme of the Hungarian Research and Technology Innovation Fund (KPI) managed by the National Research and Technology Office (NKTH). The loan will serve to fulfil the commitment of the Hungarian Government to increase investments in research, development and innovation dissemination in the framework of the Lisbon process. In this regard, the EIB funds will support projects that will help to accelerate economic growth in Hungary and increase the competitiveness of the Hungarian economy, with positive implications for the creation of high quality job opportunities. 

This is the first EIB loan in Hungary to support investments leading to the establishment of a knowledge-based society in Europe in line with the conclusions of the EU Lisbon Summit in 2000. The EIB’s approach to the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy is focused on the links between knowledge creation and the market. It involves all phases of the education cycle, research and development, the transformation of innovation into investment, productivity gains and the increased competitiveness of the European economy.

Note for the Editor

The prime objective of the EIB, the European Union’s long-term financing institution, is to contribute to the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the Member States by financing sound investment.

In Hungary, as in other EU Member States, the European Investment Bank supports investment projects in order to reduce regional development disparities, strengthen economic competitiveness, increase living standards and enhance the quality of life. Since 1990, the Bank has provided funds totalling almost EUR 7 billion to projects promoting EU policy objectives in Hungary.