Luxembourg, 29/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a finance contract for 150 million EUR on 24 October in Dublin. The AIB group, which is the main provider of banking services in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector in Ireland, will manage the funds- granted in the form of a global loan- which it will then reconvey to SMEs. The loan will fund investment projects carried out by SMEs in the industry and service sectors, the objective being to promote growth and job creation by increasing the productivity and competitiveness of these companies. AIB has long been an intermediary in EIB global loans. This operation will bring the overall sum of global loans to AIB over the past five years to some 460 million EUR.