About the EIF

Capital and Shareholders (At 31.12.2021)

The EIF has an authorised capital of €7,370m, divided into 7,370 shares with a nominal value of €1m each. On 31 December 2021, 7,300 shares were subscribed and the EIB held 59.4% (4,336) of the issued shares, the EU represented by the EC held 30% (2,190 shares) and 38 financial institutions held 10.6% (774 shares).

Country Financial Institutions

Numbers of shares

Austria - 21

UniCredit Bank Austria AG - 8

Raiffeisen Bank International AG - 7

Erste Group Bank AG - 5

Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (aws) - 1

Bulgaria - 5

Bulgarian Development Bank AD (BDB) - 5

Croatia- 13

Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) - 13

Czech Republic - 5

Národní rozvojová banka, a.s. - 5

Denmark - 8

Vækstfonden - 8

France - 175

Bpifrance Participations - 167

BPCE - 8

Germany - 238

KfW Bankengruppe - 167

NRW.BANK - 20

LfA Förderbank Bayern - 18

Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg Förderbank (L-Bank) - 13

Sächsische Aufbaubank - Förderbank (SAB) - 10

ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA - 5

Bürgschaftsbank Baden-Württemberg GmbH - 5

Greece - 3

National Bank of Greece S.A. (NBG) - 3

Hungary - 5

MFB Hungarian Development Bank Private Limited Company - 5

Italy- 87

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (CDP) - 82

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. - 5

Ireland - 10

Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Designated Activity Company (SBCI) - 10

Luxembourg - 13

Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat Luxembourg (BCEE) - 13

Malta - 24

Bank of Valletta p.l.c. - 24

Poland - 8

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) - 8

Portugal - 15

Caixa Geral de Depósitos S.A. - 8

Banco Português de Fomento, S.A. - 4

Banco BPI S.A. - 3

Slovenia - 25

SID banka, d.d., Ljubljana - 25

Spain - 91

Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) -49

Banco Santander, S.A. - 33

Nuevo MicroBank, S.A.U. - 5

Agencia de Innovación y Desarrollode Andalucía (IDEA) - 4

The Netherlands - 5

Invest-NL N.V. - 5

Turkey - 13

Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) - 8

Technology Development Foundation of Turkey (TTGV) - 5

United Kingdom - 10

Barclays Funds Investments Limited (BFIL) - 5

Scottish Enterprise - 5

Total - 774

Board of Directors (At 31.12.2021)

Chairman Werner HOYER President, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg.

Members Marc DESCHEEMAECKER Chairman of the Board, De Lijn vCentrale Diensten, Belgium

Ambroise FAYOLLE

Vice-President, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg.

Kristin SCHREIBER

Director for Chemicals, Food, Retail (Directorate F), Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW), European Commission, Belgium

Markus SCHULTE

Principal advisor for MFF, InvestEU and the relations with EIB and IFIs, Directorate- General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN), European Commission, Belgium

Eva WITT

Senior Vice President, Head of Customised Finance & Public Clients in Germany, KfW, Germany

Alternates

Nicola DE MICHELIS⁶ Director, Directorate G, Smart and Sustainable Growth and Programme Implementation IV, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO), European Commission, Belgium

Armands EBERHARDS

Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia

Eila KREIVI Director and Head of the Capital Markets Department, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg

Jean-Christophe LALOUX

Director General, Head of Operations, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg

Jean-David MALO

Director, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, established by the European Commission, Belgium

Marinela PETROVA Deputy Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance, Bulgaria

Mark SCICLUNA BARTOLI Executive - Product Management and Development, Business Banking, Bank of Valletta, Malta

EIF Management

Executive management

Alain Godard

Chief Executive.

Roger HAVENITH

Deputy Chief Executive.

Directors

Hubert COTTOGNI Head of Mandate Management. Maria LEANDER Secretary General, Head of Legal Martine LEPERT Head of Human and Resources Management. Jobst NEUSS Chief Risk Officer.

Markus SCHILLO Chief Operating Officer, Head of Operations and Information Management Alessandro TAPPI Chief Investment Officer, Head of Equity Investments and Guarantees

Audit Board

Chair

Sergio SIERRA

Head of Funding and Treasury, Instituto de Crédito Oficial, Spain

Members

Jacek DOMINIK General Counsel, Ministry of Finance, Poland.

Georgiana VAN ROMPUY

Internal Auditor, Internal Audit Service of the European Commission, Belgium

Alternate member

José Manuel PACHO SANCHEZ

Director-General for Corporate Resources, Instituto de Crédito Oficial, Spain

4. Following his nomination by the European Investment Bank, Werner HOYER was appointed by the General Meeting, effective 8 July 2021, to complete the remaining term of office of former EIB Vice-President Dario SCANNAPIECO, following his resignation from the Board of Directors, in connection with his departure from the EIB. The Board of Directors elected Werner HOYER as Chairman on 21 June 2021.

5. The appointment of a member to complete the remaining term of office of Carla D AZ  LVAREZ DE TOLEDO is still pending, following her resignation from the Board of Directors, effective 7 March 2021, in connection with her resignation from the EIB’s Board of Directors.

6. Following his nomination by the European Commission, Nicola DE MICHELIS was appointed by the General Meeting, effective 15 January 2021, to complete the remaining term of office of Eric VON BREKSA, following his resignation from the Board of Directors, in connection with his departure from the EC’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.

Audit and Controls

The EIF is characterised by a multi-layered control environment embedded in the EU institutional framework and aligned with the financial sector’s principles and best practices.

The EIF’s first layer of control is exercised through internal processes and procedures developed and implemented by the Executive Management by means of financial and operational controls designed to enable effective and efficient day-to-day operations, ensure reliable financial reporting, compliance with applicable rules and policies and achieve the EIF’s objectives.

In this context, the EIF’s procedural and organisational framework sets out the competences, authorities and reporting lines within the EIF, with a view to ensuring segregation of duties both horizontally, through the interaction between front office, middle office and back office services and vertically, through central control by the Board of Directors of the decision-making process in relation to all business activities.

The second layer of control consists of independent risk and compliance functions, which implement an ex-ante risk assessment and reporting framework for each transaction proposed for approval, complemented by ex-post risk monitoring where relevant (see sections on Risk Management and Legal Services).

The EIF maintains an Internal Control Framework (ICF) and produces an ICF report annually. The ICF relies in particular on a risk control matrix outlining the main risks to which the EIF is exposed. Through the ICF, the Executive Management is in a position to obtain the necessary comfort that key risks related to the EIF’s business activities are properly identified, that control objectives are defined, that significant risks are mitigated and that the controls designed to achieve these objectives are in place and are operating effectively.

Each year the ICF is complemented with an independent opinion from an external audit firm on the design and effectiveness of the key controls of the mandate-related processes throughout the year, in line with the internationally recognised ISAE-3402 standard (type 2 report).

The ICF and the ISAE-3402 reports form the basis for the confirmation by the Chief Executive to the Audit Board that the main risks have been identified and mitigated throughout the reporting period.

The risks, control objectives and agreed improvements described in the ICF are reviewed by Internal Audit, which, on the basis of the audits and the follow-up on agreed action plans performed, expresses an opinion on the achievement of the control objectives in the audited areas and on the design and effectiveness of the related internal controls.

The third layer includes both internal and external audit activities that are coordinated by the Audit Board. The Audit Board, as an oversight and controlling body, conducts its activity in accordance with the standards of the audit profession and relies on both internal and external audit assurances in order to confirm annually that, to the best of its knowledge and judgement, the operations of the EIF have been carried out in compliance with the Statutes Audit & Controls and the Rules of Procedure and that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the EIF as regards its assets and liabilities and of the results of its operations for the financial year under review. This information is included in the annual report submitted by the Board of Directors to the EIF’s Annual General Meeting.

In order to discharge its duty in relation to the financial statements, the Audit Board may have recourse to external auditors. The audit of the financial statements of the EIF for the year ending 31 December 2021 was carried out by KPMG Luxembourg, as external auditor.

KPMG performs its audits in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and is committed to informing the EIF Executive Management and the Audit Board of any material weaknesses in the design or implementation of internal controls over financial information that come to its attention during the audit of the financial statements. While performing the audit of the annual accounts, KPMG is acting independently, fulfilling the duty imposed on it by the Code of Professional Ethics adopted in Luxembourg by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

Internal Audit (which is outsourced to EIB Internal Audit) examines and evaluates, on an independent and objective basis, the relevance, design and effectiveness of the internal control systems and procedures within the EIF.

To that end, a yearly audit plan covering all key processes of the EIF, including those to be assessed at EIB Group level, is established, on the basis of a risk-assessment methodology, in alignment with the ICF. The plan is discussed with the Executive Management and the external auditor prior to being submitted to the Audit Board for approval.

In line with the Internal Audit Charter, Internal Audit examines the EIF’s activities in order to support the Executive Management’s statement on the design and effectiveness of internal controls, risk management and administration. Internal Audit reports on its findings by means of recommendations and agreed action plans to improve the EIF’s control and working procedures.

The Head of Internal Audit reports regularly on the execution of the internal audit programme to the Executive Management, the Audit Board and the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Internal Audit adheres to the professional and ethical guidance issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and is subject to a regular quality assurance and improvement programme that covers all aspects of the internal audit activity. Moreover, Internal Audit shall comply with the internal policy statements governing their actions.

In addition to the maintenance of an internal control environment in line with the highest standards of the financial and banking sector, the EIF is subject to periodic reviews by independent control bodies such as the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the Internal Audit Service of the EC and national or regional authorities entrusted with the task of monitoring the correct utilisation of funds under the relevant rules and within their respective remits.

Risk Management

The EIF’s mission is supported through a robust and coherent approach to risk management which seeks to ensure the highest quality standards for its operations and the best corporate rating from the major rating agencies.

Risk Management is based on the so-called “three-lines-of-defence” model, which permeates all areas of the EIF’s business functions and processes. These are first line – front office; second line – independent risk management and compliance; and third line – internal and external audit.

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect global economic instabilities and uncertainties prevailed over the reporting period. As part of EIB Group, the EIF provided a key contribution to the financial support of European SMEs in this difficult economic environment. The EIF more than doubled its pre-pandemic business volume in 2021 and this continuous high level of growth of the EIF’s transaction volumes not least challenged the capacities of Risk Management in the context of its ex-ante risk analysis of transactions and risk surveillance of EIF’s transaction portfolios.

As an additional challenge in the difficult transactional environment, EIF Risk Management also stood in the centre of intra-Group efforts to harmonise and align risk policies and procedures with best banking and market practices. This required specific contributions from EIF Risk Management to the implementing of the Group Risk Management Framework on the basis of the Group Risk Management Charter and the integration of various key risk considerations into Group documents, such as the Group ICAAP and ILAAP, the Group Risk Appetite Framework and the Group Capital Plan under the lead of the Group Chief Risk Officer.

Compliance

The EIF’s compliance risk assessment strives to protect the institution, notably against risks that could have an adverse effect on its reputation. Under the terms of its Compliance Charter, the Compliance team assesses - in line with best market practices and in line with the EIB Group’s policy framework – the (i) institutional, (ii) transactional and (iii) ethical aspects of the EIF’s compliance risk.

The principles of permanence and independence are included in the EIF Compliance Charter and materialise through the unrestricted direct access of the Chief Compliance Officer to the Chief Executive, the Deputy Chief Executive, the Board of Directors and the Audit Board.

The compliance risk assessment in the transactional area follows a risk-based approach and is reflected in the independent compliance opinion provided to the EIF decision-making bodies. It is implemented through compliance risk scorings provided in the compliance opinions, in particular on the risk of the EIF being involved (or used) in (i) money laundering and terrorism financing cases and (ii) tax avoidance schemes.

In 2021 EIF’s transaction volumes again increased significantly, in light of the EU-wide efforts to mitigate the economic fallout of the pandemic. EIF Compliance was able to maintain its standards of quality in the identification and assessment of the risks associated with transactions thanks to its staffing reinforcement in 2020 and the updates of its related Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks procedures and controls.

In line with applicable best banking and market practices, the EIF continues to pursue a number of compliance initiatives across the EIB Group for the purpose of establishing a modern and robust governance framework for risk consolidation, taking into account the interests and specificities of the EIB, the EIF and at Group level.

Therefore further enhancement of EIF Risk Management, both in terms of resources and organisational setup, is needed.

Data protection

In order to ensure compliance with the data protection regulation for EU institutions and bodies (Regulation EU 2018/1725), the Data Protection Officer (DPO) took a number of initiatives, including but not limited to:

  • giving regular training to staff and senior management;
  • providing ongoing support to the EIF Services;
  • keeping data protection procedures up to date;
  • supporting the publication of relevant privacy statements and the regular update of the Records of Processing Activities (RoPA);
  • implementing a tailor-made surveillance programme aimed at verifying EIF ongoing compliance with the data protection regulation;
  • ensuring effective cooperation with the European Data Protection Supervisor.

Legal Services

The EIF is supported by a strong in-house legal team whose remit, within its area of responsibility, is to pursue the strategic goals and protect and preserve the legal integrity of the Fund. This is achieved through the provision of legal advice based on the expertise and specialist knowledge of the team throughout the lifecycle of all the EIF’s transactional activities and in connection with institutional, strategic and policy-related matters, objectives that are reflected in the legal team’s internal structure.

With regard to transactions, in order to address increasing business volumes and the strategic goal of achieving performance gains through specialisation, the transactions team is split into two divisions, one focused on debt transactions and the other on equity transactions.

The legal service’s transaction teams work on all stages of transaction implementation, including (i) structuring and product development, (ii) review of proposals to the Investment and Risk Committee and the EIF’s Board of Directors, (iii) contractual negotiations and (iv) active portfolio management, in each case in close collaboration with other EIF services.

In terms of institutional and corporate matters, the legal service supports the implementation of good corporate governance, coordinates and advises on contractual arrangements at institutional level. The legal service aims to ensure that the EIF conducts its activities in accordance with its Statutes, mission and values, applicable law and relevant contractual obligations. It further aims to ensure smooth functioning of the EIF’s corporate bodies, under the coordination of the EIF’s Secretary General.

As a European Union body, a member of the EIB Group and a financial institution, institutional matters concerning the EIF cover a wide range of areas and at times necessitate cooperation with the EIF’s shareholders, as well as specific and proactive attention to the development of EU policy and legislative and governance frameworks.

In addition, the legal service is called upon to advise on numerous structuring, corporate, governance and regulatory matters relating to third party mandates, including external structures (funds-of-funds), for which the EIF acts as manager and/or adviser. In order to create the necessary interface between the EIF’s institutional role, its mandate management activity and transaction delivery, the activities of the transactions and the corporate and institutional teams are closely coordinated, with the aim of providing seamless advice and expertise across the EIF’s business.

Contact and References

European Investment Fund

37b, avenue J. F Kennedy

L-2968 Luxembourg

Phone +352 2485-1 | Fax +352 2485 81200

info@eif.org

www.eif.org

EIF also has offices in Athens, Bucharest, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome, Sofia.

Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union.

Freephone: 00 800 67 89 10 11

Additional information is also available on the internet:

www.europa.eu

Disclaimer

Numbers in the EIF Annual Report are correct as at 31 December 2021 and any references to figures throughout the text apply to the same period unless otherwise stated. EIF’s 2021 figures related to SME outreach and employment including the estimated numbers and sustained jobs are indicative only and are based on reports received from financial intermediaries between 1 October 2020 and 30 September 2021. EIF assumes no liability for the accuracy thereof. The EIF shall not be held responsible for the use that might be made with the information contained herein. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EIF’s copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.

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