The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a EUR 60m financing operation with Dexia Crédit Local (DCL) and Caisse d’Épargne for the construction of the Robert Schuman Hospital by the Metz Private Hospitals Association (HPM - Hôpitaux Privés de Metz). The new hospital will have around 600 beds and will bring together leading-edge medical and surgical services and other areas of specialisation in a single complex as from 2012.

This will be the EIB’s first loan for a private hospital project. The operation paves the way for a lending programme, which the European Union’s bank intends to launch in 2010 under the 2012 Hospitals Plan. Support for investment in the health sector, human capital and sustainable development is an EIB priority.

The signature took place on 12 November at the project launch ceremony organised by HPM. The innovative and ambitious project, due to be completed by 2012, was presented at this special evening event.

In the presence of Mr Pierre Batsch, President of HPM, Mr Philippe de Fontaine Vive, EIB Vice-President, Mr Jean-Luc Guitard, Director of DCL France, and Mr Thierry Lhoste,  Marketing, Supply and Regional Development Banking Services Director of BPCE-Caisses d’Épargne, signed the finance contracts, enabling DCL and Cicobail, the property leasing subsidiary of Caisses d’Épargne, to set up a EUR 120m leasing operation for HPM in early December 2009, with Dexia acting as lead bank and arranger of the operation.

The construction of the new Robert Schuman Hospital will initially allow all of HPM’s surgical, hepato-gastroenterology, nephrology and dialysis activities to be concentrated on a single site, thus facilitating patient care. With an eventual capacity of 613 beds, the new hospital will group together the services of the Belle-Isle, Saint André and Sainte Blandine hospitals on the Lauvallières site in Nouilly-Vantoux (Moselle).

In addition to integrating medical and hospital services, the objective of this project is to provide modern infrastructure and state-of-the-art care in the different areas of specialisation, as well as in the post-treatment and psychiatric fields.  HPM is a not-for-profit institution and a “Participant in the Public Hospitals Service” (PSPH). On 1 January 2008, it received the authorisation of the Lorraine Regional Hospital Agency (ARH - Agence Régionale de l’Hospitalisation) to manage the healthcare activities of the three hospitals Belle-Isle, Saint André and Sainte Blandine.

In the words of HPM’s Chairman, Pierre Batsch: “The Robert Schuman Hospital is an innovative and people-centred architectural project”.

EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive added “I am delighted that we can contribute to realisation of this important project. As in the case of other EIB-financed investments of this type, we are doing this for the benefits that it will bring to patients, staff and the community. I commend the work of the teams that developed the finance package. The project is emblematic of the complementarity between a public service and private management and the EIB intends to use it in the near future as a model for financing a renewal programme for French hospitals under the 2012 Hospitals Plan”.

The activities of French hospitals are governed by a national plan for public and private hospitals, the 2007 Hospitals Plan,  which has been supported by three successive EIB "Hôpitaux de France" programmes, totalling EUR 1 350m.

At the regional level, the Regional Health Organisation Outline Plan (SROS) aims to anticipate and instigate the necessary developments in services for optimum satisfaction of healthcare demand. For both public and private health establishments, it constitutes the reference for issuing permits, approving hospital projects, conducting contracting procedures and determining the allocation of resources.  The third SROS (2006-2011) for the Lorraine Region aims to improve the quality of healthcare services and to rationalise the sector. It recommends, in particular, that the surgery, intensive care, medical imaging and cancer treatment services be brought to together, enabling the amalgamation of the three hospitals within the Robert Schuman Hospital.

Note to editors:

About the EIB and its support for the health sector

All the projects supported by loans from the EIB, the bank of the European Union, affect the everyday lives of European citizens and contribute to improving their quality of life.   The EIB finances hospital projects and health sector projects in general that aim to create modern, comfortable and efficient facilities geared to sustainable development and projects that contribute to research and innovation, one of the objectives of the Lisbon Agenda for Europe. The EIB has therefore since 2003 - when it provided its first loan to this sector -  lent over EUR 3bn in France for the investments of the hospitals of Lyon, Tours, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Nantes, Arras, Clermont-Ferrand, Nice, Marseille, Orléans, Amiens and Fort-de-France, as well as a large number of medium-scale projects financed under its "Hôpitaux de France” programmes.

Created by the Treaty of Rome in 1958, the EIB is the European Union’s financial arm. Its main objective is to provide long-term loans for viable private or public investment projects, aimed at furthering the EU’s integration, cohesion and development objectives, broken down into six priority policies:  economic and social cohesion; environmental protection and promotion of sustainable communities; research and innovation; support for SMEs; trans-European networks and fostering secure, competitive and sustainable energy. It raises funds on the capital markets, which it uses to finance on the keenest terms projects that are in line with European strategies.  In 2008, it provided EUR 57bn of funding in the European Union; and it has already made available more than EUR 55bn in 2009 in support of Europe’s crisis-hit economies.

About the Caisses d’Épargne

The 17 Caisses d'Épargne are cooperative banks serving their regions. With 27 million customers, they assist all types of clientele: individuals, professionals, businesses, social economy operators, institutions and local authorities. They provide a first-class service in all areas: savings collection and management, credit disbursement, payment equipment, asset management, real estate projects and insurance. The Caisses d’Épargne form part of the BPCE Group, which emerged from the alliance between the Caisse d’Épargne and Banque Populaire groups. BPCE is the second largest banking group in France. It has around 37 million customers and an extensive network in France with 8 200 branches, 127 000 employees and over 7 million members.

For further information: www.bpce.fr

About Dexia

Dexia is a European bank with about 35 500 members of staff and a core shareholders’ equity of EUR 18bn as at 30 June 2009. Dexia Group focuses on public sector banking, providing public sector customers with comprehensive banking solutions, and on retail and commercial banking in Europe (mainly Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey). Its main activities encompass retail, commercial and private banking, but also insurance, asset management and investor services.
For further information: www.dexia.com