26/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 26 October 2009, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to a six-month extension of aid from the Swedish government to lending institutions (banks, building societies, etc). The Commission believes that extending the programme (endorsed on 29 October 2008) until 30 April 2010 is permitted under its state aid guidelines given the proportionality of the measure, its scale and the fact it has an end-date. (C.D.)