One in five Irish SMEs given no reason for bank loan refusals

Irish SMEs are hugely reliant on bank finance given the lack of other available options while close to one in five businesses refused finance were given no explanation for the decision, new research shows.

Bank lending is close to 15 times more popular than equity finance among small firms and more than four times as prevalent as other types of finance.

Figures compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) examining SMEs’ access to credit throughout 2014 shows larger SMEs and those which export a greater proportion of their goods and services are more likely to be granted funding.