Mr Francis Mayer, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) since 1 October 1999, has been appointed Director-General of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations Group (CDC) by the President of the French Republic on a proposal from the Council of Ministers at today's meeting.
Francis Mayer's main responsibilities on the EIB's Management Committee, the Bank's collegiate executive body, were lending operations in France and the Mediterranean Partner Countries (Maghreb, Mashreq, Israel, Turkey, West Bank), along with capital market activities: financial policies, borrowing and treasury operations. Since September 2001, he had also been a member of the Board of Directors of the European Investment Fund (EIF), in which capacity he was especially involved in the streamlining and reform of venture capital operations within the EIF, which had become a majority-owned subsidiary of the EIB.
During Francis Mayer's term of office, the EIB made a powerful contribution to the modernisation of Europe's economy and development of the EU's Partner Countries with loans totalling over EUR 38 billion a year. Within the Union and particularly in France (where EIB financing approaches an annual volume of EUR 4 billion), the Bank focused on promoting industrial competitiveness and SMEs, lending in support of a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy (i2i), developing less favoured regions and creating major French and European infrastructure (notably TER Bretagne, Port of Le Havre, urban tramway systems and TGV Est-Europe).
Outside the Union, the Bank not only stepped up its activity to prepare for the accession of the Central and Eastern European countries (annual financing of some EUR 3 to 3.5 billion) but also introduced - at the instigation of Mr Mayer, who was in charge of this dossier - a new instrument for financial partnership with the Mediterranean countries: FEMIP. This "Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership", launched on 18 October in response to the conclusions of the Barcelona European Council of March 2002, will enable the EIB to gradually increase its investment in these countries from 1.4 to 2 billion per year, attaching particular importance to developing the private sector in order to better prepare these economies for the opening of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010.
Le Comité de direction de la BEI est l'organe exécutif à plein temps de la Banque. Sous l'autorité du Président, M. Philippe Maystadt, il assure collégialement la gestion des affaires courantes de la BEI, prépare les décisions du Conseil d'administration et en assure l'exécution, notamment en ce qui concerne l'émission d'emprunts et l'octroi de prêts. Les membres du Comité de direction (composé du Président de la Banque et de sept vice-présidents) sont responsables uniquement devant la Banque et sont nommés par le Conseil des gouverneurs, composé d'un Ministre par État membre de l'Union européenne (généralement les Ministres des Finances) ; la nomination intervient pour une période de 6 ans renouvelable, sur proposition du Conseil d'administration, parmi les candidatures avancées par l'État membre concerné. En tant que l'un des principaux actionnaires de la Banque aux côtés de l'Allemagne, de l'Italie et du Royaume-Uni, la France dispose d'un siège permanent au Comité de Direction de la BEI. Le Comité de direction de la BEI siège à Luxembourg.
Né en 1950, Francis Mayer est Agrégé de l'Université et ancien élève de l'École Nationale d'Administration (ENA). Il a consacré l'essentiel de sa carrière au Trésor où il entre en 1979 et exerce, entre autres responsabilités, celles de Sous-Directeur de l'épargne et du marché financier (1991-1994), de directeur adjoint au Trésor (1994) puis de chef du Service des Affaires européennes et internationales (1994-1999). D'octobre 1997 à son arrivée à la BEI, M. Mayer fut Président du « Club de Paris ». Il a également été administrateur suppléant de la Banque Mondiale (1983-1985), administrateur de la BEI (1994-1999), de Banque des États d'Afrique Centrale (1994-1999) et de la chaîne de télévision Franco-Allemande ARTE (1994-1999).
F. Mayer est Chevalier dans l'Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur et de l'Ordre National du Mérite
The Management Committee is the Bank's full-time executive body. Under the authority of the President, Mr Philippe Maystadt, it collectively oversees the day-to-day running of the EIB as well as preparing and ensuring the implementation of the Board of Directors' decisions, notably regarding borrowing and lending operations. The members of the Management Committee (composed of the EIB's President and seven Vice-Presidents) are responsible solely to the Bank. They are appointed by the Board of Governors - consisting of Ministers (generally Finance Ministers) from each EU Member State - for a renewable period of six years, on a proposal from the Board of Directors, from among candidates put forward by the Member State concerned. As one of the Bank's principal shareholders (alongside Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) France has a permanent place on the Management Committee. The EIB's Management Committee is based in Luxembourg.
Born in 1950, Francis Mayer is a university graduate and former student of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA). He spent a large part of his career at the French Treasury, which he entered in 1979 and where, among other responsibilities, he served as Assistant Director of Savings and Financial Markets (1991-1994), Assistant Director at the Treasury (1994) and subsequently Head of the European and International Affairs Department (1994-1999). Between October 1997 and his arrival at the EIB, Mr Mayer was Chairman of the "Paris Club". He has also been an Alternate Director of the World Bank (1983-1985) and Director of the EIB (1994-1999), the Bank of Central African States (1994-1999) and the Franco-German television channel ARTE (1994-1999).
Francis Mayer is a Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honour and the National Order of Merit in France.
©EIB
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