>@EIB

Francis Mayer, EIB Vice-President from October 1999 to March 2003

We were deeply shocked to hear of the death of

Mr Francis MAYER

in Paris, on 9 December, after a long illness.

Francis Mayer was a member of the EIB's Management Committee from 1999 to 2002, before becoming CEO of the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) in Paris.

This inspired appointment was the crowning achievement in the career of a man possessed of exceptional energy, who was deeply committed to the task of building Europe and particularly attached to Franco-German friendship. A former German teacher and graduate of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA - class of 1979), Francis Mayer was an outstanding financier and first-class negotiator. Before he joined the EIB, his work at the helm of the Paris Club had been highly valued. He had also been a member of the EIB's Board of Directors from 1994 to 1999 and of the EIF's Board from 2001 to 2002.

He will be remembered at the Bank as the driving force behind the concept of FEMIP and as a true humanist and a strong personality, who made a marked impression on all those with whom he had dealings.