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Human Capital

Human capital has been a financing objective of the EIB since 1997, supporting growth and development. The Bank contributes to human capital by lending to both health and education.

Through its financing for health and education, the Bank contributes positively to:

Geographically, EIB lending to human capital covers:

The majority of EIB financing in human capital goes towards tangible investment in buildings and equipment, but a growing proportion goes to intangible investment such as student loans.

Activity in 2006
  • 42 human capital projects worth more than EUR 5.1 billion (5.9 billion in 2005).
  • Human capital accounts for around 20% of the Bank's turnover
  • Between January 1997 and December 2006: human capital lending of EUR 26.5 billion.
Key Projects

The Bank has in recent years been approached to finance projects using an experimental and advanced cancer treatment system ("hadron therapy"). The EIB has contracted work by the medical scientific community which has led to an advance in public knowledge in the area.

The EIB is also increasingly involved more intangible human capital projects. In cooperation with the World Bank, the EIB is appraising a policy programme in Turkey to provide cash incentives to those families who keep their children in school and ensure that regular health checks are completed.

Highlights
  • UK: Long track record of lending to PPPs in the health sector
  • France: Lending to French health sector from 2002-2006 amounted to a total of EUR 2.5bn (13 individual operations including the two Hôpitaux de France programmes for EUR 1 bn)
  • Portugal: the first project has been financed under an innovative PPP structure (Cascais Hospital, involving a pair of related Special Purpose Vehicles for infrastructure and clinical services)