The loan is the second major stage in the project cycle.

As soon as a project is approved by the Administrative Council, it is put into the "stock of projects awaiting financing". The corresponding disbursements are made in several tranches according to the progress of the works and after negotiation of the financial terms between the Bank and the borrower.

The financial terms of the loan are negotiated directly between the Bank and the borrower. The characteristics of the loans can be outlined as follows:

Amount
As indicated in the 'Presenting a Project' section, the amount of a CEB loan may not, as a general rule, exceed 50% of the total cost of the investments made by the borrower.

Duration
The Bank's loans are long-term loans. The deferred capital repayment period varies, but in principle ranges from 1 to 5 years.

Currency
The Bank lends in the major currencies. The choice of currency is made (during project appraisal) according to borrower preferences, market conditions and the Bank's availabilities.

Interest rate
Thanks to its rating, the Bank is able to raise resources on the international financial markets on very favourable terms. It passes these terms on to its borrowers, adding a small intermediation fee.

Interest rate subsidies
Exceptionally, and only for projects that correspond to the Bank's priority objectives and have a strong social content, the CEB can grant interest rate subsidies through a special account: the Selective Trust Account (STA). Since its creation in 1995, the STA has been endowed with 45 million euros, taken from the Bank's annual profits.

Monitoring and completion are the last stages in the project cycle. They are of course essential in order for the Bank to be able to ensure that the projects and programmes it contributes to financing are appropriately implemented and fully comply with the social objectives that were identified and approved during the appraisal stage.

Monitoring
Monitoring of a project, up to its completion, involves regular checks on the progress of the works and the appropriate use of the financings granted.
Monitoring also consists in checking that the project is going ahead according to the initial plans. The Bank must be informed of any modification made to the project and, in the event of any structural modification, a new request must be submitted to the Administrative Council.
Monitoring is carried out through reports sent to the Bank by the loan beneficiary and through on-site visits by the Bank's teams.

Completion
On completion of the project, the beneficiary must send the Bank a report giving an account of the results and comparing them with the initial projections: fulfilment of the physical and social objectives, compliance with deadlines and costs, and use of the loan.