Brussels, 26/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Banking Federation (EBF) will be organising a conference on 22-23 March in Paris on “financial transfers from migrants in the Euro-Mediterranean area”. Distinguished figures from the banking and financial world from all countries of the region are expected to attend. Philippe de Fontaine Vivre, EIB vice president explained that at a global level, these transfers were worth a “considerable” amount. These transfers have increased by 130% over the last five years. Since 2006 the EIB has been committed to identifying these transfers in the Euromed zone. According to Mr de Fontaine Vive, conclusions from last year's study, funded by FEMIP (the EIB's financing programme for the Mediterranean partnership), illustrate the scale of these financial flows (mainly from Europe), which represent between 2 and 22% of the GDP of the countries of origin (€8bn a year for the eight Mediterranean countries covered in the study). These figures are in fact likely to be higher due to “informal” transfers (up to four times higher than official transfers). The EIB regrets that such transfers are not recorded by the banks, and explains that official transfers should be analysed because they often go through companies with non-transparent practices and costs that are sometimes too high (up to 16% of the initial amount, according to the EIB). (fb)