The EIB has developed an unparalleled range of advisory services. But this offer is not well known to clients or within the Bank.

Advisory mandates have supported a substantial volume of EIB operations, and have raised the EIB’s profile. It is however challenging to know how far these benefits outweigh the EIB’s financial contribution to these mandates.

The EIB’s organisation for managing advisory has evolved over the last decade, but some constraints still limit client-orientation, synergies, and the optimal deployment of expertise.

Distribution of EIB advisory assignments in the European Union, 2014-2022

The EIB’s advisory activities are designed to enhance the bankability, investment readiness and efficient implementation of projects. The EIB Group’s Evaluation function conducted an independent corporate evaluation of the EIB’s delivery of advisory activities and technical advice in the European Union since 2014. The evaluation identifies strength and challenges of the EIB’s advisory offer and identifies specific ways forward.

• The EIB offers an unparalleled range of advisory services but has low visibility to internal and external audiences. While the quality of the services is known, the portfolio of services is not. Communication needs to be improved. 
• The advisory’s business model involves a complex balance between known costs and less measurable benefits. The challenge is to measure if these benefits outweigh the cost or if there’s added value in terms of the EIB’s reputation, improved operations or an enhanced profile.
• There have been frequent reorganisations of EIB advisory over the last decade, but the objectives of these reorganisations are only partly achieved. The management of advisory activities is still focused on mandates instead of clients, creating silos and duplications (including a patchwork of reporting obligations, as illustrated below). Coordination across directorates is also lacking, and EIB technical experts sometimes have difficulty dedicating time to advisory assignments.

Current organisational setup of EIB advisory activities

A patchwork of indicators on EIB advisory activities

• Ensure that processes and tools are fit for client-oriented management of advisory activities.
• Mobilise in-house technical advisors strategically.
• Define the value proposition of EIB advisory, including its fields of interest for the next three years.
• Enhance staff awareness of EIB advisory and provide more consistent incentives for collaboration between advisory and transaction teams.
• Consider revising the internal monitoring of advisory to make it useful for the Bank.