Irish bank lending to SMEs still falling

Irish bank lending to the SME sector continues to shrink, according to the Central Bank.

The latest report from the Central Bank found lending to SMEs by Irish banks fell by €390m over the second quarter of the year and by €1.2bn over the 12 months until the end of June.

The latest Central Bank figures chime with recent surveys which found the Irish SME was starved of credit. A survey by ISME, the lobby group representing small businesses found that one in every two SME loan applications had been rejected.