Institut Català de Finances (ICF) has signed a €100 million loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a €50 million loan with the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The loans will support projects to develop care homes, day centres and assisted living facilities for the elderly, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in the region. These agreements will allow ICF to finance non-profit social organisations, foundations, local administrations, public and private companies, unlocking up to €400 million in investment for social infrastructure projects. The EIB loan is backed by InvestEU, an EU flagship programme to mobilise public and private sector investment to support EU policy goals.
ICF, the public development bank of the Government of Catalonia, has signed a €100 million loan with the EIB to promote the construction and rehabilitation of social infrastructures in Catalonia, Spain. This is the first tranche of a loan approved for a total value of €150 million. ICF has also signed a €50 million loan with the CEB with the same aim. These agreements will allow ICF to finance non-profit social organisations, foundations, local administrations, public and private companies, unlocking up to €400 million investment for social infrastructure projects in the region.
The loans will support the construction, refurbishment and improvement of care homes, day centres and assisted living facilities supporting the elderly, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups across Catalonia. The financing provided by the three financial institutions is expected to support the creation of approximately 7.500 new residential care places in Catalonia. All funded projects must meet European sustainable building standards, specifically nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) requirements.
María Serrano, EIB’s Head of Division Public Sector in Spain, remarked, “The EIB continues to strengthen its commitment to social infrastructure to meet the most pressing needs of Europe’s people. This financing agreement with the ICF will help to strengthen and expand the range of care facilities for elderly and dependent individuals in line with the highest standards of quality and sustainability, for the benefit of all”.
As emphasised by Maria Sigüenza, the CEB's Country Manager for Spain, “We are pleased to expand our ongoing partnership with ICF. This new loan reflects the CEB’s strong commitment to social inclusion and the reduction of inequality in Spain. Moreover, it exemplifies the importance of cooperation and joint action among multilateral development banks, such as the CEB and EIB, in building stronger communities and delivering high-impact social projects.”
Vanessa Servera, CEO of the ICF, described the agreement as “a new success story in public-private cooperation,” emphasising that “the EIB and the CEB are providing the financial resources, we are taking on the management and financial risk, and it will be public entities and other actors that will launch the projects and investments the Catalan social services network needs to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”
The agreement with ICF contributes to the EIB Group's strategic priority of reinforcing Europe’s social infrastructure. This is one of the Group's eight priorities set out in its Strategic Roadmap for the years 2024-2027.
The EIB loan is guaranteed by InvestEU, the flagship EU programme to mobilise over €372 billion of additional public and private sector investment to support EU policy goals from 2021 to 2027.
As the social development bank for Europe, investing in social infrastructure is the CEB’s main mission, as emphasised by its Strategic Framework 2023-2027. By signing the agreement with ICF, the CEB continues to respond flexibly to evolving social development and inclusion challenges in Spain.
