SMEs take up just €45m of SBCI loans

Just over 10% of the Government’s €400m SME financing fund was taken up in the first four months, according to latest figures.

The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) was established in September 2014 and began lending to SMEs at a discounted rate at the beginning of March.

The fund was lauded as a key part of the Government’s strategy to make cheaper finance readily available to small and medium-sized businesses and alleviate the financing difficulties they were facing.