How do they differ from the EIB?

On account of the volume of its borrowing and lending, the EIB is sometimes described as the foremost multilateral development bank.

However, this assertion has its limits, partly due to the specific nature of the Bank, which is not strictly speaking an MDB.

• As the financing institution of the European Union, the EIB focuses the bulk of its activity on promoting the balanced development and integration of the European Union by financing projects located in countries with highly developed economies.
• However, the EIB also provides support in over a hundred non-member countries with which it has concluded association, partnership or pre-accession agreements. Consequently, the EIB manages EU loan aid to these countries. Such loans complement and combine effectively with the grant aid and subsidies deployed by the European Commission on behalf of the Union and its Member States.
•  EIB financing operations outside the EU are geared to priorities defined jointly by the Union and beneficiary countries in accordance with guidelines for the conduct of the EU's external policies laid down by the European Council. Hence, Bank lending in these countries necessarily targets a limited number of areas, such as basic infrastructure, communications and industrial joint ventures. Other development requirements such as technical and food aid, training and exchange initiatives, grants and export credit guarantee facilities are covered by Commission programmes financed from budgetary funds.