2. Officially supported export finance in Denmark

Danmarks Eksport- og Investeringsfond (EIFO) is the official Danish ECA, after the merger of Denmark’s three state funds in January 2023: Denmark’s ECA Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF), Vækstfonden (The Growth Fund) and the Danish Green Investment Fund who all became EIFO’s subsidiaries (EIFO, n.d.a). EKF was established more than 100 years ago as only the third ECA in the world (EKF, 2023). EIFO is owned and guaranteed by the Danish state and is therefore perceived as a very safe creditor with an AAA rating (EIFO, n.d.c). The merger of the three institutions into EIFO is supposed to enhance access to finance, improve competitiveness and support the green transition by streamlining operations. EIFO’s creation was decided on by the Danish Parliament in mid-2022 and EIFO’s board of directors was appointed by the Erhvervsministeriet (EM) (Ministry for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs) (EIFO, 2022).

The merger and creation of EIFO made it possible to redefine the profile of the ECA which now has a strong ‘green’ dimension (Act on Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, 2022; Perspectives Climate Group, n.d.). EIFO is tasked to “create the maximum possible social return […] by promoting growth and innovation […], promoting Danish trade and industry's export [….], and contributing to a sustainable and green transition.” (Act on Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, 2022, p. 1). EIFO is the first ECA to prioritise sustainability and a green transition in its main objectives which is notable because traditional ‘export-neutral’ mandates are often seen as obstacles to this shift. Historically, ECA’s key task to support exports is considered at odds with prioritising climate-friendly investments and excluding fossil fuel projects (Ombuya and Shishlov, 2023). EIFO’s sustainability mandate distinguishes it from its predecessor EKF which had a pure export promotion mandate (EKF, 2023).

As an independent public company under the EM, EIFO offers insurance, guarantees and loans to banks and companies – both national and foreign – that take risks on exports and investments containing Danish economic interest (Berne Union, n.d.b).

EIFO is recognised as one of the market leaders in financing RE among ECAs (see Figure 5). EIFO has financed about 40 GW in wind energy and has been involved in the financing of 30% of all installed offshore wind capacity outside of China according to company statements (EIFO, n.d.c). EKF, EIFO’s predecessor institution, has been offering RE finance for more than two decades, with the first wind power deal being concluded in 1998 (EIFO, 2023d).

Figure 1: Financed wind energy by EIFO.

Source: Authors, based on EIFO (2024).

Data points shared by EIFO with the authors.

Table 1 summarises key data points on EIFO.

Table 1: Overview of EIFO.

Key facts EIFO
Type of ECA	Multi-purpose ECA, 100% state-owned
Main sectors*	RE production (67%), transport (10%), IT service (4%), agriculture and food production (3%), energy transmission and distribution (2%), cement (1%), mining (1%), chemical production (1%), fossil energy production (1%), metal products (1%), others (11%)
Geographic activity concentration**	UK (15%), Türkiye (12%), (Denmark 8%), Taiwan (8%), Spain (8%), Other European countries (15%), other (35%)
Commitments outstanding Commitments outstanding is a ‘stock parameter’ of the total amounts under cover or for which liability is assumed at a given cut-off date (compare Berne Union, 2021). *	Total transaction: EUR 21.8 billion Using the ECB exchange rate of 1:7.46 from 2023 throughout the report if not stated differently (Dkr 162.4). of which international commitments: EUR 17.3 billion
New commitments New commitments is a ‘flow parameter’ which refers to the total volume of new insurances, guarantees, loans or other instruments at a given cut-off date (compare Berne Union, 2021). *	EUR 1.88 billion
Main instruments of financial support	Export credit insurance, project finance, SME guarantees, export loans, investment guarantees, bond and guarantees, working capital guarantees, reinsurance
Category A, B and C projects** Category A projects are widely understood as those likely to have significant adverse environmental and social effects that are sensitive, diverse, or unprecedented beyond the project sites and may be irreversible, and Category B projects as those with site-specific environmental and social effects (with only few if any irreversible effects) which in most cases can be mitigated. Category C projects are such with minimal or no adverse environmental or social risks and/or impact (e.g., IFC, n.d.).	Category A: 42 (2023), 25 (2022), 23 (2021), 26 (2020), 62 (2019) Category B: 9 (2023), 10 (2022), 25 (2021), 13 (2020), 10 (2021) Category C: 1 (2023), 1 (2022), 1 (2021), 2 (2020), 5 (2019) N/A:*** 26 (2023), 41 (2022), 100 (2021), 75 (2020), 19 (2021)

Note: (*) = Data for 2023; (**) = Data for 2022 (***) = Figures are reported per creditor, not project.

Source: authors based on EKF, 2023; EIFO, 2024a, n.d.b; ENS, 2024