EIB and Crédit Agricole CIB Launch €8 Billion Wind Energy Financing Partnership with €500 Million Counter-Guarantee
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (Crédit Agricole CIB) have jointly announced a major new strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the development of the wind energy sector in Europe, with the initiative expected to mobilize up to €8 billion in total investment.
Under the agreement, the EIB will provide Crédit Agricole CIB with a €500 million counter-guarantee. This counter-guarantee will enable Crédit Agricole CIB to issue up to €1 billion in bank guarantees to its clients, thereby facilitating financing for new wind farm projects across EU member states. The EIB emphasized that this risk-sharing mechanism is projected to generate substantial leverage, ultimately channeling approximately €8 billion into real-economy wind power investments.
The partnership is also designed to attract additional private capital from other commercial banks and institutional investors, collectively accelerating the expansion of Europe’s wind power capacity while offering Crédit Agricole CIB’s clients a broad range of green transition financing solutions.
This collaboration represents the latest concrete step in Crédit Agricole’s recently announced ambitious sustainable finance commitments, which include achieving a 90:10 green-to-brown financing ratio by 2028 (meaning €9 of low-carbon energy financing for every €1 of fossil fuel financing), facilitating a cumulative €240 billion in transition financing, and generating €1 billion in sustainable finance revenues within its corporate and investment banking division.
Jean-François Balaÿ, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole CIB, stated:
“The signing of this framework agreement with the European Investment Bank is of major strategic importance. It significantly enhances our capacity to support large-scale wind energy projects across Europe, further consolidates our leadership position in the energy transition, and delivers tangible contributions to the development of sustainable infrastructure.”
The agreement also forms a key component of the EIB’s support for the European Wind Power Package launched by the European Commission in 2023. Backed by a dedicated €6.5 billion envelope from the EIB, the package seeks to markedly strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s wind power industry and add 32 GW of new wind generation capacity by 2030.
Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, commented:
“Renewable energy sources such as wind power are essential for Europe to achieve secure, decarbonized, and locally produced energy. The EIB has already allocated €6.5 billion to the wind sector. This risk-sharing partnership with Crédit Agricole CIB will powerfully accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality while enhancing the resilience, cost-competitiveness, and strategic autonomy of Europe’s wind industry value chain.”
