The Nordic Investment Bank: The Evolution of an International Institution

Abstract

The Nordic Investment Bank (nib) is an international financial institution created in 1975 by the Nordic Council of Ministers to promote investment projects and exports in the Nordic region. In 1998, a new Agreement and Statutes replaced the previous ones and established the international character of the institution. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, nib started to provide financing to the Baltic states which in 2004 became full members under a new Agreement. The three establishing treaties have marked the evolution of nib: first, a common institution of the Nordic countries; then, an international financial institution of the Nordic countries; and, finally, a Nordic-Baltic international financial institution. In this process, a key point is to appreciate whether and to what extent nib has continuously operated as a legal entity across the succession of establishing treaties.