Banks claim SME lending ‘on target’ despite Credit Review Office criticism

Bank of Ireland and AIB have said they remain on schedule to meet SME lending targets, despite fresh criticism from the Credit Review Office.

Yesterday’s ninth quarterly lending review from the CRO detailed the overturning of 14 bank loan refusals between July and the end of September, resulting in nearly €1.2m worth of loans being released to credit-hungry firms.

The office claimed the banks weren’t doing enough to assist SME access to funding, adding that lending policy has tightened and that it could be a challenge for the banks to meet their lending targets.