EU considers next president of European Investment Bank

The current head of the EIB, Mr. Werner Hoyer. (Source: FFWD)

European Union (EU) officials say five people have put themselves forward for the position of President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), one of the bloc's top positions.

The current head of the EIB, Mr. Werner Hoyer (German) has held this position since 2012.

He will step down at the end of the year, leaving a vacancy at a bank with a balance sheet of 544 billion euros ($582.24 billion) and registered capital of 249 billion euros.

The frontrunners among five candidates to replace Mr Hoyer are Denmark's Margrethe Vestager, currently vice-president of the European Commission, and Spanish Finance Minister Nadia Calvino.

Also interested in the EIB presidency are Italian central bank official Daniele Franco and two current EIB vice-presidents – former Polish Finance Minister Teresa Czerwinska and former Swedish Energy Minister Thomas Ostros.

The EIB is the EU's lending arm, operating in 160 countries worldwide. It claims to be the world's largest multilateral financial institution by assets, providing loans, guarantees, equity investments and financial advisory services.

The EIB is particularly focused on efforts to combat climate change , protect the environment and sustainable energy. It will therefore be a key player in financing the EU's ambitious transition towards a more digital and carbon-neutral economy .

EU officials said the selection of the new EIB head is linked to the selection of the next head of the bloc's banking watchdog, the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM).

This position is expected to be chosen by the European Central Bank (ECB) on September 13.

Officials close to the talks said the appointment of the EIB president would be discussed next week at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Spain, but a formal decision could not be made until October.

Next year, EU countries must also decide who will head the bloc's three top institutions – the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament – along with its foreign policy chief.

The selection of one position will affect others due to the need to maintain a balance of gender, political party, nationality and country size in each such appointment./.

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