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How it works

Here are the steps of your journey with us: from your project idea and loan initiative, through the mission fulfilment assessment and sustainability analysis of the project, to the approval of the loan and signing a loan agreement, and beyond.

See what the general eligibility criteria are for a project to be considered for financing, and what both your company and NIB can do to make this journey a success.

NIB’s selection process 

1

Loan initiative and mandate assessment

You initiate a project, we assess your project to determine if the investment improves productivity and/or benefits the environment in the Bank’s member countries. There is no standard form for a loan application. Below, you can find general criteria for your project to be eligible for NIB financing. At this stage, we expect from you a detailed project description and information on how and why your project suits NIB’s mission.

Please contact us for further details—click to visit the page of the relevant business area:

Public Sector & Utilities
Infrastructure & Project Finance
Industry

Services & Consumer
Financial Institutions
Sustainability-linked loans

2

Credit and sustainability analysis

You share your annual accounts, financial plans, environmental information, and other relevant documents. We analyse them. This step is about sustainability and credit analysis. We will ask you to send us your annual accounts, financial plans, an environmental impact assessment of your project, applicable permits and licenses, as well as other relevant information, if necessary. We are also interested in your company’s commitment and capacity to manage the environmental and social impacts of your project. The scope of required material may vary from one project to another.

3

Project approval by the Board of Directors or NIB’s President

A decision to grant a loan is normally made by the Board of Directors, after preliminary approval by the Mandate, Credit and Compliance Committee. NIB's President is authorised by the Board to make certain lending decisions.

4

Loan negotiation and agreement

Once the loan for your project is approved, we negotiate loan documentation. NIB seeks loan agreements that fairly balance the interests of borrower and lender, reflecting the Bank’s special position as a long-term lender. The length of this process varies from a few weeks to months depending on the complexity.

In line with its Public Information Policy, NIB discloses the newly signed loans. The publication normally includes the basic, publicly available customer details, the amount and tenor or the loan as well as a general description of the loan-financed project.

5

Loan disbursement

The timing and number of disbursements can be adjusted to your cash flow needs, subject to conditions precedent for disbursements being met.

6

Relationship and loan management

Once the loan is disbursed, we keep in touch. We are responsive to your changing needs as a borrower, and we seek to serve you quickly as your business develops. Every year during the lifetime of the loan, we reassess the risk and follow up on the project implementation. We continually follow the development of your business and your compliance with the key undertakings of the loan agreement.

7

Project monitoring and follow-up

Following project completion, we evaluate the realisation of the estimated productivity gains and/or environmental benefits as agreed during the loan negotiation. This is part of our ex-post procedure to ensure our impact and learn lessons for future lending. Read more:

NIB awards Green Project certificates to customers with the environmentally best performing projects.

Mandate assessment & project review

NIB conducts a sustainability review of all loan applications.

Read more

Our impact

Results of NIB's operations: infographics, mission fulfilment, environmental impact and key data.

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Integrity and Compliance

Find out about NIB's policies and practices in the areas of accountability, transparency and business ethics.

Read more