SME lending from Bank of Ireland up 18%

The Bank of Ireland has revealed an 18 per cent increase in loan approvals for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the first half of 2013.
 
Mark Cunningham, director of business banking, also confirmed the bank was providing almost 50 per cent of all non-property lending to SMEs in Ireland.
 
Additionally, the bank says it is now approving 84 per cent of the 1,000 loan applications it receives each and every week.
 
Cunningham said: "The provision of new and increased credit is a vital component of the bank’s strategy for this sector as we grow our revenues through providing products and services which SME businesses and their owners want and need.
 
"While we clearly have more to do, these figures show that we are making progress. According to our own internal analysis of Central Bank data, we are providing almost 50 per cent of all non-property lending to SMEs in Ireland.
 
"The momentum we have developed since the fourth quarter of 2012 is very encouraging and reflects a sustained effort on the part of the bank and signs of increased demand from SMEs."
 
The most significant demand for credit came from the agriculture sector, most notably the funding of land purchases. Meanwhile there was also a notable increase in demand from the car trade, which has reported a 20 per cent increase when compared with 2012 levels.
 
"Our focus for the second half of 2013 is to build on the momentum we have achieved in our business in the first half and have been seeing in the domestic economy as a whole."
 
The Government has outlined a €4bn SME lending target for the year, on both the Bank of Ireland and AIB.
 
Despite the increase in lending, the overall flow of credit to the Irish SME sector remains somewhat constrained with banks seeking to deleverage and preserve capital levels.
 
However, the European Central Bank (ECB) is working hard to encourage the development of the SME securitisation market.

Date published 17 Jul 2013 | Last updated 17 Jul 2013