Anders Borg, member of the EIB Board!
July 31, 2011 in News
EMPTY FACTORIES. The production of Saab’s factories is at a standstill and the company is on the brink of ruin. Vladimir Antonov can save the company, but first he must be approved by the European Investment Bank, where Anders Borg is a director. But the Finance Minister does not seem to do anything to save Saab.
Borg has no idea – though he sits on the Board:
The European Investment Bank stopped Antonov – The government says the EIB does not respond – even though Borg sits on the Board.
Saab is on the brink of ruin. The subcontractors are not paid while production is stopped and the staff are not getting their salaries.
Russian Vladimir Antonov want to go in with a billion SEK in the company, as soon as he gets the government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) approval. He has already injected well over one billion through unofficial channels, but now he’s hard to do more without getting some form of security in the company.
The National Debt Office’s blessing, he has already received. But the government is “ducking” and argue time and again that they know nothing, nothing can be done and that they are awaiting a decision from the EIB.
Earlier this week, the confusion picked up when the EIB through its spokesman Pär Isaksson said the decision to not let Antonov in , a decision who was already taken in 2009, remains unchanged. Nothing else will do. The fact that Saab submitted an application for new ownership assessment and Antonov course passed the examination at the Debt Office has no meaning, according to Pär Isaksson.
This weekend, Maud Olofsson said through his Secretary of State Catharina Håkansson the government to make a new contact with the EIB to ascertain what is what.
When I searched Olofsson last night announced the Press Secretary Håkan Lind once again that they would make contact with the EIB. How the contact would be taken had he would not disclose:
- We have the contacts that is needed.
Then I search for Finance Anders Borg. This the Industry Ministry also should have done. A long time ago. As Borg is a member of the European Investment Bank’s board. And he has full insight there in everything that happens there.
Throughout the spring and summer, the government has directed a spectacle that is unparalleled in modern democracies. Finance Minister Anders Borg sits on the board of the EIB, he has full transparency/insight, which is obvious, but I have moreover got confirmed by Socialdemocratic politicians who knows what a board of directors membership of the EIB mean.
The minister’s press secretary Victoria Eriksson said on the phone that the Minister of Finance is not available for comment. I present anyway my question: How has Borg used his seat of the board of EIB to influence the Saab affair?
There is silence in the handset: “What kind of position of the Board?”
- In the EIB.
- But he has probably no one seat on the board … in EIB?
Yes. Anders Borg sits on the board of the European Investment Bank since October 2006.
The questions I want answered is whether he has taken the responsibility sitting on the bank’s board and why he had not told the Swedish people about his board position. A responsibility of a Swedish finance minister which is expected to take on an issue that will determine Saab’s survival and 10,000 jobs in western Sweden.
DUTCH900C said on July 31, 2011
Grrrrrrr, what an unbelievable situation this is!!
ANA said on July 31, 2011
Well done to Robert Collin – he can clearly make the Government squirm on this topic. I hope other media take on the baton and demand answers too.
Trued said on July 31, 2011
Here is The man who Shanghai’ed the classic comservative party with some more than suspicious persons Ex. Minister of Labour issues Littorin (who resigned after à sex-scandal involving underaged according to http://www.aftonbladet.se) and Mrs Stegö-Chilo who never made it into to The Office Ministry of culture because she had refused to pay The TV- licence fee that is mandatory in Sweden.
They are all Neo-liberals but check out Borg some years ago here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g51NFNlJQI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
CurtInFalcon said on July 31, 2011
It’s either a conspiracy to kill Saab, ignorance or incompetence. Whatever the cause, Saab is hurting and there is no one to assist them. Unbelievable!
BoeBoe said on July 31, 2011
How is this “news”? It is public information that he is on the board. You can find it on the EIB’s website:
http://www.eib.org/about/structure/governance/board_of_governors/anders-borg.htm
TimR said on July 31, 2011
It’s news in respect to the fact of the recent information that has just surfaced that the Government claims that they did not know that the EIB would never agree to Mr Antonov. Now that its spread around the news that Anders Borg is actually on the board of the EIB, it proves again that the government has been lying to everyone. There is no way that he did not know about it!
BoeBoe said on July 31, 2011
Did the Board of Governors know? Or did only the Board of Directors know? The Board of Directors (where Borg isn’t a part of) made the decission about Antonov.
The Board of Governors (where Borg is in) has nothing to do with the approval of Antonov.
Khrisdk said on July 31, 2011
It is news in the context that most didn’t know this.
Marque said on August 1, 2011
Whom do you ask this? I mean this is a yesterday article in newspaper Aftonbladet. But anyhow, EIB recently refused Antonov where government stated they did not know about this historic decision. The fact that the government has deep involvement in the EIB through a mnister makes this topic quite thrilling!
BoeBoe said on July 31, 2011
And this is what the Board of Governors does (where Anders Borg sits in):
And as I read this it becomes clear that the Board of Governors has nothing to do with the loans provided to Saab or the approval of Antonov. That is something that should be done by the Board of Directors.
A lot of fuss about “nothing”.
maanders said on July 31, 2011
Nothing, BoeBoe? As an American I cannot claim to understand Swedish government and politics, but if the Swedish Finance Minister is a member of the EIB Board of Governors and even wonders if a decision by the EIB Board of Directors is going to contribute to the potential loss of many jobs in Sweden….would he not use his position to try and find out more details from the Board of Directors so he could be informed and help explain to the Swedish people what is going on?
Once again, this is not about government money Saab is asking for but for the permission for a private investor to invest in Saab.
ANA said on July 31, 2011
BoeBoe
I disagree that this is a ‘lot of fuss about nothing.’ Any pressure that the media can put on the EIB and/or the Swedish government over their handling of Saab and potential investors should be welcomed.
BoeBoe said on July 31, 2011
You are correct.
bjornorn said on July 31, 2011
If Borg was not fully aware, or indeed Kurt Hall who is an EIB Director, of a case that would bring a 100million investment to Sweden and on which maybe 10000 people are dependent on for employment then that would be simply astonishing.
TimR said on July 31, 2011
Well this is the golden question, how is it that they were not aware since the Swedish Government is so deeply involved with the EIB? They have representatives on the highest levels and they are also major shareholders of the bank!
ANA said on July 31, 2011
Of course he was aware!
ivo 71 said on July 31, 2011
Well, since his press secretary didn’t know mr. Borg is on the EIB Board, it becomes more plausible that Borg knew nothing about Saab because, as everyone knows, board members of EIB never read newspapers or reports, aren’t kept informed about EIB activities, don’t go to any EIB meetings or speak to others at EIB, especially not fellow Swedes such as mr. Hall… and only drink coffee with people like Eva Srejber, who Borg has a long-standing professional relationship with from the time they both were top dogs at the Swedish National Bank. I believe mrs. Srejber was actually his boss there.
As Sweden’s finance minister he has, logically, no interest at all in the lot of one of Sweden’s flagship industries or the livelihood of 10.000 or more Swedes so it is only natural that he doesn’t discuss such trivial matters with others in Sweden or in Brussels, let alone try to pressure the EIB into co-operating risklessly in saving the employment of these people. I wonder what he would do -or not do- if a Russian banker would put in a request to participate in a windmill factory in Sweden…
Or perhaps the EIB Board is an asylum for the mentally challenged who only sit there to.. sit there and enjoy the view? Then again, it’s always possible that mr. Borg is unable to see and hear which, of course, is perfect for someone who is supposed to run the financial well-being of a country. See no evil, hear no evil…and do nothing.
In other words, there is no way Borg knew nothing about what and how EIB decided about VA’s prospective entry into Spyker/Saab as a shareholder. This whole charade is an a$$-covering rearguard action of a number of second-rate politicians, designed to blame others for the consequences of their own lethargy. They deserve a total rejection by the Swedish electorate at the next election. Or as much earlier as convenient.
Bah. I wish those spend-happy social democrats were back in the saddle. These neo-liberals are just ruining everything good Sweden has achieved in many decades. Profit is not the only thing that counts.
Ivo
dave said on July 31, 2011
Nice ! move the spotlight to other people now, maybe finally they get some good sense and start to actually do something. We don’t need favors, we just need that they don’t make life even harder for SAAB.
TonymacUK said on July 31, 2011
It is absolutely incredible that, given all the publicity about the SAAB situation over the last few months, that Borg could not know of the EIB`s stance re Antonov. Assuming that he did know, why did he not inform the relevant people in the Swedish Government (I am assuming there is one).? Mr. Borg has a lot of questions to answer before he does the honourable thing and offers his resignation from the multiple posts he seems to hold.
Uddo said on July 31, 2011
No Anders Borg here???
http://www.eib.org/about/structure/governance/board_of_directors/
Grumpy said on July 31, 2011
Semantics, I am note sure Board of Governors is any better
BoeBoe said on August 1, 2011
He is on the Board of Governors and not on the Board of Directors.
Tripod said on August 1, 2011
Well, dear BoeBoe, you can forget that talk about if he sits in this or that; we all know that the ministers of Finance is represented in the Board of Governors and that Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker is the chairman of that board. Nothing new there.
It seems like you have missed the fact that the president of the EIB, in the Management Committee, Mr. Philippe Maystadt, apparently knew something, and that he chose to tell a third-party, the CEO of Clepa, early July that they were not going to accept VA as part-owner.
http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/joakim-von-anka-ingen-losning
This became known later in July, in fact this week, and then their spokesperson had to step forward and say something, and he referred to the 2009 decision; when in fact Ms Srejber answered the media in April that they were indeed doing an evaluation of the request for changed ownership.
If the president of the EIB knew this, well, then I guess most of them knew. But who knows, the Board of Governors are politicians, ministers, and we all know that have a history of ignorance in all kind of different matters.
So, BoeBoe, if the president knew, and could tell the CEO of Clepa, don’t you think some more outside the Board of Directors knew?
You have tendency trying to find all that talks against Saab, and trying to point at small facts, but you also omit some facts, as you blame other people doing.
BoeBoe said on August 1, 2011
Bla, bla, bla… I made a reply to the comment of “Uddo”. And he said the following:
He “sees” that Anders Borg is not in the Board of Directors and I only point out that Anders Borg is only in the Board of Governors and not in the Board of Directors.
Is it that difficult to understand?
Tripod said on August 1, 2011
You say: “… and I only point out that [...] Is it that difficult to understand?”
Well, you did an early comment to the above post; pointing out the fact that it is public knowledge that he is part of the Board of Governors.
http://www.saabsunited.com/2011/07/anders-borg-member-of-the-eib-board.html#comment-147820
Then, below that, in a reply to Tim you said:
“Did the Board of Governors know? Or did only the Board of Directors know? The Board of Directors (where Borg isn’t a part of) made the decission [sic] about Antonov.
The Board of Governors (where Borg is in) has nothing to do with the approval of Antonov.”
So you have made your point clear in this thread. I just happened to comment a later reply than your two initial comments above. You also made another comment to the blog post, not a reply to another comment, were you quoted the tasks for the different boards.
Then you follow up this mission you seem to have with the reply, above, that I replied to. I am not sure what Uddo meant.
And your response, now, to me? “Bla, bla, bla… I made a reply to the comment of “Uddo”.”
Oh how eloquent, BoeBoe; I am very impressed. You can’t simply assume that just because the Swedish Minister of Finance is a member of the Board of Governors he didn’t know; when clearly other people outside the Board of Directors knew.
Anyhow this is more about the EIB than the Swedish government.
You do your worst – and we will do our best.
Uddo said on August 1, 2011
Thank you for your answer BoeBoe!!
You knew exactly what I meant!!
Leeloo said on July 31, 2011
I can not believe this.. what’s the news? Where’s the facts like you always pick on other people for not having? Rumors, conspiration theories… that’s ok to write about as long as the direction is against the government and not Antonov and VM.
So now Robert Collin, a politically far left journalist, tries to write down Anders Borg and you bite the hook like never before without even checking the facts. Embarrassing and pathetic. The editorial from yesterdays DN didn’t fit the profile of this site, right? As long as everybody stays in line everything is fine. Why question the reallity when we can stay positive and say Halleluleja!!!!!! Griffin up!!!
ps. yes, you’re welcome to put a ban on me, this site is below dignity.
Grumpy said on July 31, 2011
Bye bye Leeloo
You are welcome to stay away as long as you like.
Jeff said on August 1, 2011
Leeloo…I get your frustration. It’s hard for Tim to give all the facts that he’s allowed without getting any of our own sources in trouble. He has inside information that leads him to post what he posts. It’s not so much Tim pushing a pro Saab agenda, which we most transparently have, it’s covering a really shady story that we’ve heard a lot about off the record that is frustratingly hard to hold back from telling you all, but we respect our sources (or else they’d never respect us enough to give us insider knowledge to inform our coverage).
Tim has posted several critical Saab pieces in the past few weeks, he’s even thrown around the hypothetical bankruptcy question in a post last week. In this case when it comes to the political mess that surrounds the Antonov situation, let’s just say there’s a reason he’s chasing this story that is plenty good enough for me, and I hope we can push mainstream Swedish journalists to turn over all the stones.
GerritN said on August 1, 2011
“this site is below dignity”
If so, why are you keep coming back? Do you get a kick out of torturing yourself?
Carl-Henrik said on August 1, 2011
Oh.. you might have forgotten about this.. but we who wants Saab to continue to exist enjoys this site. You don’t.. so why don’t you spend your time on a site that brings you joy?
Khrisdk said on August 1, 2011
He just wants to make the same statement as a lot of other people
Life can be hard when someone is wrong on the internet
Tripod said on July 31, 2011
No matter what Mr. Borg knew, and that should be investigated, the journalists should also ask Pär Isaksson and the EIB:
- Why do they refer to a decision taken in 2009 when they got a new request this spring?
Late April Ms. Eva Srejber said that they, the EIB, were working on the evaluation of the requested change of ownership. That meant that everyone was waiting on either a yes or a no. The EIB has since then been quiet for months, referring to their bank secrecy,
The only reason for Pär Isaksson and the EIB to step forward now, this week, was that it had become known that the chairman of the EIB, Mr. Philippe Maystadt had spoken with Clepa:s CEO, Mr. Lars Holmqvist, when the CEO participated in the Almedalen-week, early July.
Suddenly the EIB had to say something; and then they referred to their decision and message in 2009 …
What kind of reply is that? Eva Srejber told the media in April that they were working on the new request. They should have worked quickly and then communicated their conclusion about the new request; if only saying that it did change a thing, but no, they kept quiet, well, apart from their chairman.
The journalists should also ask Pär Isaksson and the EIB:
- During the months since this spring the EIB has not commented on the issue, referring to their bank secrecy. This didn’t stop the EIB chairman, Mr. Maystadt, to talk with a third party, not involved, early July.
What is the EIB’s view on bank secrecy?
- And why, if they could talk with a third party, didn’t they communicate their decision, or lack thereof (since they now refer to the old one in 2009), to the people involved, primarily VA and Saab, but also the Swedish NDO?
Khrisdk said on August 1, 2011
Nice sum up of the tangible facts.
TimR said on August 1, 2011
+1, tells the story well!
zippy said on August 1, 2011
Lets face facts the EIB and Swedish government woul have a certan amnt olood on their hands f anything happens to Saab.
zippy said on August 1, 2011
Damned iPad.
Khrisdk said on August 1, 2011
katar1na said on August 1, 2011
Grrrrrr…
Someone should drag that folish pony tail of his after a 9-4X