The European Investment Fund (EIF) and UniCredit have signed a deal that looks to channel €1bn to 2,500 small-to-medium enterprises across central and eastern Europe. Announced yesterday, the deal will see the EIF provide two guarantees worth around €370m to UniCredit Group to finance approximately €1bn of investment made by small businesses in Bulgaria, Croatia,…
The EC and the EIB are to supply €18bn of financing under Global Gateway, Europe’s investment strategy for partner countries. A statement from the two organisations, released alongside the Global CITIZEN Now Summit in New York, said the investment would be concentrated on climate action, clean energy and connectivity in the continent’s partner countries around…
The number of sustainable fund launches fell sharply in the first three months of 2023, Morningstar data has revealed. According to the firm’s latest quarterly report, there were 113 new sustainable funds launched in the quarter around the world – the lowest number since the start of 2020. Previously, Reuters wrote, new launches had exceeded…
Two lawsuits have this week been filed in Luxembourg against the European Union over its decision to include gas and nuclear in its guide to ESG investing. One of the suits has been filed by Greenpeace; the other by a coalition including Client Earth and the World Wildlife Fund. In the former, the argument being…
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have issued a joint consultation paper on the Delegated Regulation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The 158-page report – co-written by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – contains a raft of proposed…
The European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif) has said it will exclude from its next tally of the continent’s sustainable investing market those asset managers offering hard-to-define strategies around ESG. Speaking to Bloomberg earlier this week, Eurosif said it was revising its methodology, given the size of the market, which previous estimates from the forum have…
A slew of new projects from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have received the go-ahead from the InvestEU Investment Committee. Under the auspices of the various projects, investments totalling €1.1bn will be used to boost green and sustainable projects in the municipal, transport and energy sectors. According to the EBRD: “The InvestEU…
ESG policies around investing are causing unease for some institutions, a survey from Robeco has suggested. The Robeco Global Climate Survey 2023 highlighted a number of issues in the market that respondents say are causing tension. These include the energy crisis, which – while reinforcing net-zero convictions – has increased short-term exposures; and whether policies…
Mercedes has signalled its intentions to invest billions in Europe into new plants in Germany and Hungary. According to multiple news sources, the automotive giant has said it will build plants in Rastatt, Germany, and Kecskemet, Hungary. Jörg Burzer, the automaker’s production chief, reportedly told German publisher Automobilwoche the firm would begin building the Rastatt…
The US and the EU have reached common ground on the former’s Inflation Reduction Act and the latter’s European Green Deal, Ursula von der Leyen has revealed. In a speech made available on the EC’s website, the European Commission (EC) president lauds the fact that the “two biggest and most-advanced economies in the world are…
Europe has an ‘unprecedented opportunity’ to move away from imported fossil fuels and become a ‘long-term leader in clean energy’, according to a report from law firm Dentons. The 72-page report, Investing in Renewable Energy Projects in Europe, states that global investment in renewable energy has soared in recent years, reaching $495bn (€467) in 2022…
But costs are creeping up as more existing funds reposition their offering
