Europe’s national and regional promotional banks and institutions (NPBIs) are at the forefront of addressing the continent’s housing crisis by delivering tailored solutions to meet the housing needs of their respective EU Member States. In this context, both the European Long-Term Investors Association (ELTI) and the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) endorse the European Commission’s landmark move of publishing its first European Affordable Housing Plan.
Brussels – At a high-level panel discussion hosted by the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) on 27 November 2025, senior policymakers and financial experts highlighted the indispensable role of National Promotional Banks (NPBs) in the next EU long-term budget. The panel, “Doing More with EU Funding: Maximising the Leverage of the EU Budget,” focused on how the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) can generate greater investment impact.
The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) held its General Assembly in Barcelona on July 1, 2025, hosted by its long-standing member, the Institut Català de Finances (ICF). The event brought together leaders from Europe’s public banking sector to celebrate milestones, deepen collaboration and discuss pressing challenges.
Brussels, 14 April 2025 – Europe’s National Promotional Banks and Institutions (NPBIs) mobilized €50 billion in support of over 380,000 homes across Europe in 2023, according to a joint report released by the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) and the European Association of Long Term Investors (ELTI). The report highlights how these institutions bridge critical market gaps by financing affordable, sustainable, energy-efficient, and socially inclusive housing projects—areas where traditional markets fall short.
Brussels, 18 March 2025 – The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) has published its Position Paper on Housing. The paper presents concrete policy recommendations aimed at addressing Europe’s growing affordable housing crisis, including reforms to state aid rules, financial instruments, and investment programs.
Brussels - On November 21, 2024, the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) successfully hosted a high-level panel discussion on “Shaping the Future of Affordable and Sustainable Housing in Europe” at the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Brussels. The event brought together key stakeholders, including regulators, public banks, and social housing associations, to address the urgent need for a coordinated approach to financing social and affordable housing across Europe.
The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) held its General Assembly on May 31 in Barcelona, Spain, with the kind support of its member ICF.
Brussels, December 04 – The recently concluded high-level event by the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) on public import/export financing for a sustainable transition marked a significant milestone in highlighting the pivotal role of public banks in steering the global economy towards sustainability. As major providers of export finance, public banks, demonstrated a steadfast commitment to facilitating significant green and sustainable investments, aligning with the objectives of the European Green Deal, with the aim of accelerating and enabling change, innovation, and growth.
Brussels, July 4 - The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) concluded its recent General Assembly hosted by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) in Warsaw with a renewed focus and a strategic vision to empower its members and drive positive change. The event witnessed active participation from esteemed delegates, including the President of the EAPB, Ms. Lidwin van Velden, who praised BGK for their outstanding efforts in supporting refugees from Ukraine and acknowledged the need for joint efforts in the reconstruction process.
Milan, 01 July 2022, The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), the National Association of Regional Financial Institutions (ANFIR), Finlombarda (the in-house public financial institution of Lombardy Region) and the University of International Studies of Rome (UNINT) jointly organized an event entitled "The financial instruments under cohesion policy to strengthen the economic and territorial recovery".
The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) held its General Assembly and its Administrative Board elections on June 30 in Milan. Ms. Lidwin Van Velden, CEO of NWB Bank (the Netherlands), has been elected as the new EAPB President. She succeeds Mr. Philippe Mills, CEO of SFIL (France) who passes the torch after 3 consecutive 2 year terms at the helm of the organization.
In his acceptance speech, President Mills stated that “the composition of our new Administrative Board presents an optimal balance from the point of view of geography, business models and gender.“ EAPB's newly elected nine-member board is composed of six women.
On November 12, the first global summit of all Public Development Banks took place during the Paris Peace Forum, an initiative of the World Federation of Development Finance Institutions (WFDFI) and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) that aims to bring together all actors in global governance and promote their commitment to multilateralism. For this purpose, the summit gathered more than 450 Public Development Banks (PDBs) operating at the local, national regional and international levels. PDBs are public institutions controlled or supported by governments. They have a public mandate and their operations implement countries’ commitments to development and international solidarity, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The national and regional promotional banks and funding agencies, members of the EAPB, have taken measures in response to the Covid-19 crisis, fulfilling their role as counter-cyclical state instruments. Their high-level intervention capacities are fully available to participate actively in Europe's economic recovery. The Covid-19 Crisis has hit the global economy with unprecedented intensity. This crisis is very different from the one we witnessed ten years ago. It is spreading extremely quickly and is gradually bringing all countries to an economic halt. This crisis, which is gaining a strong foothold in major economies across the globe, especially in the United States of America, requires a rapid, reasoned and coordinated response.
The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) held its Annual Reception and CEO Conference in Brussels on the 28th and 29th of November 2018. Mr. Philippe Mills, EAPB President and CEO of SFIL opened the Annual Reception highlighting the role of public banks and municipality funding agencies as gate openers in the area of sustainable finance. Mr. Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary General, OECD delivered the keynote speech on Sustainable Finance for Europe: Challenges and Opportunities.
On October 10, EAPB held a workshop on the role of ‘public banks in implementing financial instruments in EU Cohesion Policy within MFF’ as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities. The workshop highlighted the importance of financial instruments in cohesion policy - a set of tools allowing to increase significantly the concrete impact of EU funds. They are highly flexible - meaning they can be used for any type of funds (ERDF, EARDF, ERDF) and can help to reach a wide variety of objectives (from energy efficiency to competitiveness).
The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) held its CEO Conference and General Assembly in Zagreb on the 4th and 5th of June 2018. Mr. Philippe Mills, CEO of SFIL and EAPB President and Ms. Tamara Perko, CEO of HBOR opened the CEO conference. Ahead of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the EU in 2020, the Croatian Minister of Finance Mr. Zdravko Maric delivered a speech to the participants of the conference on the priorities of Croatia with regard to the new EU budget.
The European Association of Public Banks, together with four other European banking associations (EBF, EACB, EMF-ECBC and ESBG), presented today a set of high-level principles regarding the communication between SMEs and banks around loan applications. The principles, developed in discussions with European SME organisations, aim at promoting high quality feedback on credit applications, enabling SME clients to better understand the reasons behind the bank’s decision.
On June 6, the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) organised its semestrial General Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event was kindly hosted by the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB). EAPB member BDB is a publicly owned financial institution, its mission is to provide access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.
On June 25, the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) organised its semestrial General Assembly in Düsseldorf, Germany. The event was kindly hosted by the NRW.BANK. NRW.BANK provides financing for the purposes of economic development of the North Rhine Westphalia Region.
On November 23, the European Commission published a set of proposals on the current legislative framework of the EU Banking Union. The proposals constitute the most substantial amendments to the existing provisions ever since the establishment of the post-crisis framework and will make important changes to the texts of various regulations and directives (Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), Capital Requirements Directive IV(CRDIV), Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, Single Resolution Mechanism Regulation (SRMR)).
On June 28, the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) organised its semestrial General Assembly in Helsinki, Finland. The event was kindly hosted by Municipality Finance PLC.
20 April 2015, Brussels: The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) welcomes the results of the vote by the European Parliament on the European Fund for Strategic Investments. For many years, EAPB has been a strong advocate for closer coordination and cooperation between the activities of the European Investment Bank and NPBs. EAPB sees a great potential for synergies to the benefits of the European Economy. Therefore, it is important to pursue the plan's objectives close to the ground in cooperation with local economic and political actors. NPBs are deeply anchored in their territories and know their local economies, regions, municipalities and SMEs and their needs very well.