02/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - Loan for Spanish SMEs. On Friday 29 April, the European Investment Bank granted a €500 million loan to Spain's Instituto de Crédito Oficial. The loan will be used to finance small and medium-scale projects carried out by SMEs “in the industrial and service sectors and the research, development and innovation field”. It will also finance investment that may qualify for support from the EIB's Knowledge Economy initiative. (O.L./transl.rt)