EIB launches its first targeted EARN e-bond

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's financial institution and largest non-sovereign borrower in Europe has joined forces with Caboto, the Investment Bank of the Group Intesa, to launch the first Targeted EARN e-bond.

The EUR 500 million bond issue with maturity 15th October 2002, has a coupon of 4.625%. It is EIB's first issue to be distributed electronically. Caboto, acting as the sole lead-manager, through its RetLots system, makes the issue available to its most important institutional clients in Italy and abroad through Internet and Bloomberg.

Senior Co-lead Managers are Caja de Madrid and Warburg Dillon Read, while co-Lead Managers are: ABN Amro, BNP-Paribas, CDC, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Goldman Sachs, IMI and Société Générale.

EIB's Director General of Finance René Karsenti has commented:

"This issue represents a key building block in developing EIB's internet funding strategy, started in June 1999 with a euro debt exchange offer entirely executed via the internet."

The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and was established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. Its shareholders are the Member States of the European Union. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy each hold a 17.8% stake. Its subscribed capital is EUR 100 billion. Ninety percent of the EIB's lending activity takes place in the European Union. In 1999, it lent EUR 32 billion for capital investment, of which 90% in the EU Member States, and borrowed EUR 28 billion on capital markets.