Patrick Honohan: No quick fix for loan-starved SMEs

Outgoing Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan has admitted that while the recovery is “solid” and delivering plenty of jobs, small businesses are starved of credit.

In a speech to the Small Firms Association yesterday, Mr Honohan appeared to suggest that there are no easy fixes, and that only more entrants into Irish banking will boost competition and, in time, provide new sources for business loans.

The comments are significant because they were made in what will be one of Mr Honohan’s last public addresses before he steps down in two and a half weeks.