The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to develop partnerships with domestic and foreign banks in Greece with a view to expanding long-term funding to small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), officials said. EIB already has such partnerships with the National Investment Bank for Industrial Development (ETEBA) and French-based BNP.
In 2002, EIB granted loans in Greece totalling 1.1 bn euros, of which 500 m went for projects in urban transport, protection of cultural heritage and the environment and upgrading urban areas, with a further 320 m for highways. The amount absorbed in 2001 was 1.6 bn euros, due to the spate of large projects under construction then.
