Norway's €586 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Government Pension Fund Global, has signed a deal with the real estate arm of French insurance giant Axa to lend money to property companies — a strategy aimed at taking on banks' role as lenders of choice in this market.

Norges Bank Investment Management, the arm of Norway's central bank that manages the fund, will now be given the option of participating in all the lending done by Axa's in-house real estate lending division - doubling its firepower.