Lords EU Committee to take evidence from the British Business Bank and Germany's national development bank

They will be giving evidence to the Committee's inquiry into how the UK might continue to participate in the European Investment Bank (EIB) after Brexit, and UK alternatives to it.

At 10.15am the Committee will hear from:

• Keith Morgan, Chief Executive Officer, British Business Bank
• Catherine Lewis La Torre, Chief Executive Officer, BBB British Patient Capital Holdings.

Questions the panel are likely to face include:

• How does the British Business Bank (BBB) help improve access to finance for SMEs?
• What is the relationship between the BBB and its subsidiaries, such as the Patient Capital Holdings?
• What would be the consequences if the EIF withdraws from the UK market?
• Is the £200 million of additional funding for the BBB to replace EIF funding, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Autumn Budget, enough?
• The regional investment funds established by the BBB are currently supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the EIB. What effect is Brexit likely to have on these funds?

At 11.30am the Committee will hear from:

• Eva Witt, Director of Federal and European Affairs, KfW.

Questions she is likely to face include:

• What role does KfW play in the German economy and internationally?
• Where does KfW provide the most added value compared to the private sector?
• How does KfW interact with the work of the EIB?
• The KfW provides a ‘one-stop shop' for public financial support across different areas. What are the advantages of having such a system, rather than separate institutions or programmes with narrower mandates?
• KfW's liabilities do not show up in measures of German public debt. Why is this the case and is this an issue of contention?

These evidence sessions will take place from 10.15am on Wednesday 14 November 2018 in Committee Room 4A of the House of Lords.