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Bertrand de Mazières, Director General of Finance at the European Investment Bank (EIB), retires this year after 17 years at the institution. During an august career he helped guide the bank through periods of global financial crisis and political turmoil. He was instrumental in the EIB’s evolution into a climate bank that has laid the foundations of a trillion dollar green bond market. But in a testament to the institution’s culture, what he will miss most is the people.

The European Investment Bank has built impressive longstanding relationships across North Africa in general and Morocco in particular. It began working with Morocco in 1979, since when it has channelled some €10bn of investment into the country. These flows have accelerated, with €2.5bn invested in the last five years, making Morocco the second largest recipient of EIB investment in North Africa since 2017. In this interview, Ricardo Mourinho Félix, the EIB vice-president responsible, among other things, for its activities in Morocco and Tunisia, shares his thoughts on the Bank’s lending strategy and its response to the earthquake in Morocco.