Luxembourg, 19/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted overall loans to the Central European International Bank (CIB) and the Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank (K&H Bank) in Hungary, and has signed with Inter-Europa Bank (IEB) and K&H Bank special agreements for the funding of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The EUR 50 million loan granted to CIB will be used for financing small and medium sized projects in the field of environmental protection, energy savings, infrastructures, industry, services and tourism. Out of the EUR 70 million loan intended for K&H Bank, 50 million are for the same purpose as the loan granted to CIB. The balance of 20 million will be devoted to tourism and municipal infrastructure sectors, and the EIB will be willing, in this connection, to finance up to 75% of the total cost of projects (through the intermediary of the K&H Bank). Going beyond its usual 50% contribution to the funding of investment costs, the EIB hopes to encourage promoters to implement and complete their projects as swiftly as possible. The loans granted to K&H and to IEB will come within the framework of the mechanism for funding SMEs, a special provision that was set in place by the Commission and which offers EIB partner banks an encouragement in the form of a specific contribution intended to foster the emergence of a sound and competitive SME sector in candidate countries. These two establishments will be the first two EIB partner banks to benefit from the SME financing mechanism in Hungary.