European Investment Bank launches an "Euro"-tributary issue denominated in Escudos

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's long-term financing institution, is issuing a 20 billion Portuguese Escudos bond today. The interest rate will be 5.75% over 10 years.

In the framework of EIB's strategy towards the "Euro", specific clauses will permit the redenomination of the issue in Euro and its consolidation with other European Investment Bank Euro and Euro-tributary issues. This issue in Escudos follows the successful launch by the EIB earlier this year of two Euro-tributary issues in the Dutch Guilder and French Franc, under terms allowing the Bank to redenominate the issues in Euro after January 1999, with the coming into force of the 3rd stage of the EMU. The EIB intends to consolidate these future Euro-tributaries with other Euro issues to create, for each maturity category, larger single Euro issues after January 1999.

The EIB has appointed Banco CISF to act as the lead manager of the issue.