Fitch Decision To Put EIB On Rating Watch Negative

EIB takes note of Fitch’s decision, announced on 19 December 2011, to put EIB’s “AAA” long term issuer default ratings (IDR) on Rating Watch Negative (RWN), while the short term IDR is maintained at F1+, the highest on the rating scale. This was prompted by Fitch’s decision to place on RWN the ratings of 6 Eurozone countries.

The Bank believes that the high quality of its asset portfolio and its strong intrinsic financial situation are arguments in favor of retaining the highest credit standing, as already acknowledged by Fitch in their press release published on
6 October 2011 (“FITCH AFFIRMS EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK AT 'AAA'/'F1+'”).  In addition, the Bank is of the view that, despite a potential change of the rating of some of its shareholders, their support – as laid down in the EU Treaty - remains intact. The EIB is in dialogue with Fitch on this matter.