Banks cut loans to SMEs by €1.4bn last year

Lending to SMEs fell by €1.4bn, or 5%, last year, according the Central Bank.

The bank’s latest Trends in Business Credit and Deposits bulletin, published yesterday, also showed Irish banks lent 1.6%, or €431m, less to SMEs on a quarter-by-quarter basis during the final three months of 2012.

However, SMEs still accounted for 68% of total bank credit to non-property and non-financial private sector enterprises last year.