Finland Times

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a 400 million euros (around 550 million U.S. dollars) loan agreement to finance the SMEs (firms with up to 250 employees) in the European Union, according to the EIB's press release Monday.

The projects eligible for financing will be located mainly in Spain and to a lesser degree in other EU countries, mainly in the industrial and service sectors. 

The EIB loan will provide these companies with long-term finance for their investment projects and credit lines on favourable terms to fund their working capital requirements of more than two years. 

Supporting SMEs, the driving force of job creation and economic recovery, is the EIB's top investment priority, the bank which is based in Luxembourg said. 

In 2013, the EIB Group supported SMEs and midcaps (firms with up to 3,000 employees) to the tune of 22 billion euros (30 billion U.S. dollars), benefiting some 230,000 firms throughout Europe.