Survey shows banks’ new stringent lending conditions

CLEAR evidence of how Irish banks have transformed from operating lax lending policies into imposing far more stringent conditions on borrowers has been highlighted by a major new survey.

The analysis of the outcome of loan applications by enterprises show a dramatic contrast in the ability of companies to borrow in the space of just a few years between 2007 and 2010.

The Central Statistics Office figures show that the success rate of business owners who applied for loan finance fell from 90% in 2007 to 50% last year.