§ 31. Mr. Delwyn Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Industry what facilities are available for small firms to borrow from the European Investment Bank.
§ Mr. MacGregorI am pleased to announce that I have today signed with Finance For Industry Limited an266W exchange risk agreement which will assist it to make European Investment Bank foreign currency loans available to small firms in manufacturing industry in the assisted areas and Northern Ireland.
Through the agency of the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation, loans of from £15,000 to £50,000, at attractive interest rates for investment in new fixed assets, are now available. These arrangements complement the EIB agency held for the last three years by the Department, through which loans totalling £52 million have been made to 118 firms in a loan range of £15,000 to £2.5 million.