Brussels, 13/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced on Friday that it had signed an agreement with the Co-operative Bank for a 40 million euro loan to support SME activities in the United Kingdom in the fields of industry, tourism in rural and urban areas and services. This is the first global loan the EIB has concluded with this bank situated in Manchester and that is part of the Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd.