The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested €8.7 billion in its traditional area of operations in 2012, financing an unprecedented 388 individual projects. According to its preliminary estimates, that compared with an investment volume of €9 billion in 2011 in 380 projects.

A record number of projects were financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2012. The Bank expects to have made a 2012 net profit of around €1 billion, after €173 million in 2011. In 2012, Russia remained the single largest recipient of investments, with an estimated annual business volume of €2.6 billion, 30 per cent of the total. Turkey, where the EBRD began investing only in 2009, saw investments of €1.0 billion. The Bank announced in November 2012 that €10 billion was invested in sustainable energy since 2006.

The EBRD also launched its expansion into the southern and eastern Mediterranean in 2012, making commitments worth €181 million in six projects. In particular, the Bank has begun investing in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia, supporting the process of economic modernisation in the wake of political changes in the Middle East and North Africa.

Looking ahead to 2013 and beyond, the EBRD will put a strong emphasis on financing projects that can prepare the way for recovery and more robust growth in the future. By 2015, it expects to be investing up to €2.5 billion a year in this new region.