LfA Förderbank Bayern, founded in 1951, is the specialist promotional bank of the Free State of Bavaria. Its mandate is to use the instruments of a bank to provide financial support for the projects of commercial companies and professions in almost all branches of industry and for other measures designed to improve Bavaria's economic, transport, energy and environmental structure. At the centre of LfA’s business activities is support for investment by those looking to start a business and by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME); this support is designed to compensate for the financial disadvantage these smaller firms face compared with larger companies. The aim is to create new and safeguard existing jobs in Bavaria. Where the development loans contain subsidy components, they are generally aimed at SME as defined by the European Commission.