Lending to SMEs plummets in Q2

BANK lending to small and medium-size enterprises plummeted in the second quarter with loans to the wholesale/retail sector down 10.8% and hotels/restaurants down 17.4%.

The decline is revealed in the Central Bank’s quarterly statistics, detailing developments in the credit advanced to, and deposits received from, Irish private-sector enterprises by credit institutions resident in Ireland.

“Credit advanced to the manufacturing sector was 9.8% lower on an annual basis at end-Q2 2011, following a quarterly decline of €126 million during Q2. Credit to the manufacturing sector has been declining persistently on an annual basis since Q2 2009,” the Central Bank found.