The EIB has today officially opened the EIB Group Office in Slovenia to strengthen relations with public and private promoters and partner banks and widen its outreach in Slovenia. The EIB Group Office is headed by Mr Peter Jacobs.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has today officially opened the EIB Group Office in Slovenia to strengthen relations with public and private promoters and partner banks and widen its outreach in Slovenia. The EIB Group Office is headed by Mr Peter Jacobs.

EIB Vice-President László Baranyay, who inaugurated the EIB Group Office together with Slovenia’s Minister of Finance Mrs Mateja Vraničar Erman, stated: “The Office of the EIB Group will contribute to the widening of EIB Group activities in Slovenia, where the EU bank has very well developed cooperation. We have a highly diversified lending portfolio in Slovenia, with a lending commitment of some EUR 6.5 billion since the start of our operations in the country in 1991. The new representation will also make it possible to better combine EIB lending with EU grants and enable the provision of technical and financial advice to better meet the financing needs of Slovenia’s public and private sectors”.

Mrs Mateja Vraničar Erman stated: “We welcome the opening of the European Investment Bank's office in Ljubljana, which will enable a further deepening of good relations with the Bank and a further increase in cooperation, including funding. The local presence represents good starting point for intensified cooperation in assisting with the preparation and structuring of projects, especially in the private sector”.

Establishing an EIB Group Office in Ljubljana is in line with the EIB’s policy of increasing its presence in the EU Member States and beyond. A physical presence in the individual EU capitals will provide market proximity and an improved operational delivery capability for the EIB and closer institutional ties with the national authorities. This will also help to enhance the EIB’s institutional dialogue with national authorities and other stakeholders of the EU bank; improve project identification and screening; appraise new operations; combine EIB lending with EU Structural Fund grants and financing with the European Investment Fund (EIF); and implement new products to finance the public and private sectors, also activating guarantees from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

The EIB currently has offices in 21 EU Member States and 19 countries outside the EU promoting business and policy dialogue.

The EU bank has also granted a EUR 50 million loan to SID Banka – Slovenia’s national promotional and development bank – to improve access of Slovenian SMEs and midcap companies to long-term financing. EIB funds will finance projects in the areas of R&D, infrastructure, energy efficiency and the environment. This intermediated loan is a continuation of the excellent cooperation with SID Banka, a well-established financing partner of the EIB. Since 2009, the EIB has provided this financial institution with approximately EUR 1.0 billion for the benefit of the development of the SME and midcap sector, which represents the engine of the Slovenian economy in terms of growth and job creation. New EIB funds will be available shortly and disbursed in a cooperation with commercial banks.