European Investment Bank boss does not want German finance minister's job

European Investment Bank head Werner Hoyer, whose name has come up as a possible candidate to be Germany's next finance minister, says he will be staying on at the helm of the EIB for the next six years.

Wolfgang Schaeuble, German finance minister for the last eight years and a key figure in the eurozone's financial crisis, looks set to become the next speaker of Germany's parliament.

He is to be formally nominated next month following elections last Sunday.

Speaking to reporters in Athens on Friday (29 September), Hoyer said it was "nice to be mentioned" but that he was "extremely happy" as head of the EIB. He said the bank's governors had mandated him with another six years after his term ends on Dec. 31, "and I'm looking forward to that."

Overnight, Moody's gave the EIB's credit rating (Aaa Stable) a thumbs up, opining that the bank's profile is underpinned by its "sound capital levels, very high asset quality and solid support from its highly rated shareholders."

"Strong asset quality compensates for the EIB's high leverage, which is high even in comparison to other Aaa-rated multilateral development banks," said Kathrin Muehlbronner, a Moody's senior vice president.

The ratings agency also said the bank's strong asset performance reflects the bank's prudent project
selection and monitoring and its very sold risk management practices. As a share of total disbursed loans, its non-performing loan ratio is exceptionally low at just 0.02% as of June 2017 and 0.05% in 2016, setting the EIB apart from most other Aaa-rated multilateral development banks.