57% of banks no knowledge of fund

MORE than half of banks questioned in a survey claimed to have had no knowledge of recent European funding made available for lending to the small firms sector, nor the guidelines introduced by the Government relating to banks’ lending practices to relevant companies.

A code of conduct for business lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was introduced by the Government back in March, on the back of the European Investment Bank (EIB) making €350 million available as low interest loans to Irish SMEs, administered by the banks.

The idea behind the lending code was to inject transparency into the banks’ loan practices to small firms and to ensure that any SME refused a loan would be given the reason by the bank.