Watchdog: Demand for loans falls

THE Credit Review Office has poured cold water on ongoing claims SMEs are still finding it difficult to access bank loans, by saying both demand and refusals are in decline.

The body — established last year to monitor the flow of bank credit to small and medium-sized enterprises — said yesterday it is “incorrect” to suggest the main banks aren’t lending and the idea they’re not is based on conditions 12-18 months ago.

“The banks we are dealing with are lending to viable propositions,” the Review Office’s head, John Trethowan remarked yesterday at the publication of the third quarterly report from the body.