Ulster Bank says 35% of its €6.5bn SME loan book is distressed
Representatives of the bank — addressing the Oireachtas Jobs Committee on SME lending — also noted that while a certain amount of ‘warehousing’ of small business debt is considered, debt write-off is only considered when a client company is facing total closure and no other asset solution can be found.
The bank’s chief credit officer, Andrew Blair, said that Ulster’s SME clients are treated in the same way as its mortgage customers, in that regard, and that the fact that “only” 31 businesses on its books have gone into receivership since the beginning of the recession shows that its debt solutions are effective.
