Nordic governments explore joint loans to fund defense buildup

HELSINKI — Nordic governments are exploring the feasibility of permitting the Helsinki-based Nordic Investment Bank to provide competitively priced loans to defense companies in the private and state-ownership domains.

Founded by the five Nordic states in 1975, the Nordic Investment Bank was to function as a financial institution supporting the regional and international growth of nondefense industries. The Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the bank as full members in 2005.

“The NIB hasn’t in the past financed defense companies in the military-industry complex. However, the world has changed,” said André Küüsvek, the bank’s chief executive. “Such a development can have immense symbolic value. It’s a change in our business under consideration by our owner governments.”

The central discussion at the government level revolves around what type of capital investments within the defense sphere the bank might be sanctioned to finance.

Any future pan-Nordic agreement to authorize the NIB to provide development loans to the defense industry would represent a significant annex to the bank’s operations. At present, the bank is primarily focused on funding projects within the portfolios of infrastructure and green transformation, such as wind and hydropower; hydrogen-fueled transportation; environmentally friendly buildings; airports; and road networks.

Most Nordic states, led by Sweden and Norway, want to strike a balance between those activities and the additional field of national and regional security, which involves drone systems and surveillance technologies.

The bank, which traditionally prioritizes high-impact projects, completed $1.1 billion in new lending during the first three months of 2024. In 2023, it paid out $3.7 billion in loans to Nordic companies. A significant and increasing proportion of the lending is extended for research and development.

The final decision as to whether the NIB is cleared to provide financing to the Nordic defense sector is “in the hands of the bank’s government owners,” Küüsvek said.

Sweden is the largest owner in the NIB, as it holds 34.6% of the bank’s shares, followed by Norway with 21.5%, Denmark with 21.1%, Finland with 17.7%, Iceland with 0.9%, Lithuania with 2%, Latvia with 1.3% and Estonia with 0.9%.

Nordic government interest in using the bank to support the growth potential of defense companies has followed quickly on the heels of formerly nonaligned states Sweden and Finland joining NATO, a development that removed many obstacles to closer cross-Nordic defense collaboration. Nordic governments have made no secret of their desire to exercise what they consider a so-called NATO dividend to deepen cooperation in key areas, including joint weapons development and production.

One joint Nordic cooperation project that got underway in the first quarter of 2024 saw the Finnish Defence Forces transfer military equipment to stores in neighboring Norway. Finland’s military plans to commence a similar operation to move equipment to stores in Sweden in the fall.

Gerard O'Dwyer is the Scandinavian affairs correspondent for Defense News.

赫尔辛基——北欧各国政府正在探讨允许总部位于赫尔辛基的北欧投资银行向私营和国有国防企业提供价格具有竞争力的贷款的可行性。

北欧投资银行由五个北欧国家于1975年创立，旨在作为一家金融机构，支持非国防工业的区域和国际发展。波罗的海三国——爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚和立陶宛——于2005年正式加入该银行。

“过去，挪威投资银行（NIB）从未向军工复合体中的国防企业提供融资。然而，世界已经发生了变化，”该银行首席执行官安德烈·库斯韦克表示。“这样的发展具有巨大的象征意义。这是我们所属各国政府正在考虑的业务变革。”

政府层面的核心讨论围绕着该银行可能被批准为国防领域内的哪些类型的资本投资提供融资展开。

未来任何授权北欧投资银行（NIB）向国防工业提供发展贷款的泛北欧协议，都将极大地扩展该银行的业务。目前，该银行主要专注于为基础设施和绿色转型领域的项目提供资金，例如风能和水力发电、氢燃料交通、环保建筑、机场和公路网。

以瑞典和挪威为首的大多数北欧国家希望在这些活动与涉及无人机系统和监视技术的国家和地区安全领域之间取得平衡。

这家银行历来优先考虑高影响力项目，在2024年第一季度完成了11亿美元的新贷款。2023年，该银行向北欧企业发放了37亿美元的贷款。其中，用于研发的贷款比例相当可观且不断增长。

Küüsvek表示，NIB是否获准向北欧国防领域提供融资的最终决定“掌握在银行的政府所有者手中”。

瑞典是NIB的最大股东，持有该银行34.6%的股份，其次是挪威（21.5%）、丹麦（21.1%）、芬兰（17.7%）、冰岛（0.9%）、立陶宛（2%）、拉脱维亚（1.3%）和爱沙尼亚（0.9%）。

在瑞典和芬兰这两个原先不结盟的国家加入北约后，北欧各国政府迅速表现出利用北约银行支持国防企业发展潜力的浓厚兴趣。瑞典和芬兰的加入扫清了北欧各国加强防务合作的诸多障碍。北欧各国政府毫不掩饰其希望利用所谓的“北约红利”深化在关键领域的合作，包括联合武器研发和生产。

2024年第一季度启动的一项北欧联合合作项目，是芬兰国防军将军事装备转移到邻国挪威的仓库。芬兰军方计划在秋季启动类似行动，将装备转移到瑞典的仓库。

杰拉德·奥德怀尔是《防务新闻》的斯堪的纳维亚事务记者。