Overlapping lending by the European investment bank and the European bank for reconstruction and development

Abstract

One of the main criticisms of contemporary lending practice bydifferent multilateral public banks in Europe made by scholars andpolicymakers focuses on overlapping loans, which can create dupli-cations and inefficiencies. However, no database exists on thelending overlaps between these banks. With the aim of analysingthese overlaps, all lending by the two major multilateral publicbanks in Europe, the European Investment Bank and theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development, were mergedinto a single database. This new database allows researchers toassess lending overlap, regarding its size, evolution, and geography, facilitating an inquiry into the extent to which banks coordinate thisoverlapping lending