Tougher lending conditions forecast

A report from the Central Bank has predicted that lending conditions and credit availability to small firms will get tougher, rather than easier, in the immediate future.

In its paper on competition in the SME lending market, the financial authority said that figures suggest that the market “which is already highly concentrated by international standards, is likely to become even more concentrated”.

The Central Bank also said however that recent Government initiatives should help, but that things are unlikely to improve any time soon.