Brussels, 18/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank is expanding its support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey by bringing a new partner, GarantiBank, under its global loan umbrella. The EUR 100 million overall loan to GarantiBank will be used to finance Turkish small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing and service sectors. 'GarantiBank, founded in 1946. is a private sector bank jointly owned by the Doðuþ Group and General Electric. Since then it has become a prominent Turkish bank with a nationwide network of 433 branches and offices,' explains an EIB press release. EIB Vice-President Wolfgang Roth said that the new relationship with GarantiBank would assist the EIB in fulfilling its mandate in Turkey.