News
CEB approves four new loans worth €241 million
26 January 2024
PARIS - The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) approved today four new loans in the amount of €241 million. The investment projects span multiple social sectors, including energy-efficient housing, sustainable water management and social care.
“In all the sectors it finances, the CEB strives to ensure that no one is left behind,” CEB Governor Carlo Monticelli commented. “Responding to new challenges and the priorities expressed by our member states, we intend to place additional emphasis on the equity, inclusion and vulnerability dimensions of social investment.”
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: A €3.5 million additional loan to Partner Microfinance Foundation will enable them to continue financing small-scale energy efficiency investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the period 2024-2026. Supporting the lending to low-income households and microenterprises, the programme will improve the comfort of dwellings while reducing energy bills. The programme continues the successful cooperation with Partner Microcredit Foundation since the first loan was approved in 2018.
ITALY: A €80 million additional loan to IREN Group will continue to support this multi-utility company in financing integrated water services, mostly in small and medium-size municipalities in Italy. Investments will contribute to developing a more sustainable use of water resources through leakage reduction, improved quality of drinking water networks, and better sewer treatment systems. More than 1 million individuals will gain access to improved water and related services, positively impacting the living conditions and improving local communities’ resilience to natural disasters.
LITHUANIA: A €57.5 million loan to the Republic of Lithuania will co-finance investments in the renovation of public buildings to ensure energy efficiency and accessibility of public services to vulnerable groups, local communities and general public. The loan will co-finance, together with the Nordic Investment Bank, pre-selected investments in the amount of €184 million in the portfolio of Turto Bankas, the Lithuanian Government’s state-owned enterprise responsible for manging the state’s real estate property. The loan will support the authorities in implementing the EU Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings and deliver on Lithuania’s National Energy Independence Strategy, which identifies increasing heating efficiency in public buildings as a national priority.
SPAIN: A €100 million loan will partially finance the Autonomous Community of Madrid’s budgetary expenditures for social care programmes as well as capital investments to renovate and upgrade social care facilities. The loan will bolster the Community’s efforts provide quality social care services to the elderly, persons with disabilities and victims of gender-based violence. Building on long-standing collaboration with the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the new loan brings up to €500 million the amount of CEB financing for social care programmes in the region.
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank, whose unique mission is to promote social cohesion in its 43 member states across Europe. The CEB finances investment in social sectors, including education, health and affordable housing, with a focus on the needs of vulnerable people. Borrowers include governments, local and regional authorities, public and private banks, non-profit organisations and others. As a multilateral bank with an excellent credit rating, the CEB funds itself on the international capital markets. It approves projects according to strict social, environmental and governance criteria, and provides technical assistance. In addition, the CEB receives funds from donors to complement its activities.