IMF study: Irish SMEs still face ‘vulnerabilities’

An expert in a research paper commissioned by the IMF has warned about the “vulnerabilities” still facing debt-laden Irish firms eight years after the onset of the financial crash.

The research by Nir Klein, published on the IMF website this week, finds many corporates have weathered the crash but warns “some indicators suggest the corporate sector vulnerabilities remain elevated”.

That’s because non- financial companies here carry among the highest debt loads in Europe, at 185% of GDP, while the level of non-performing loans though declining “remain high”, according to the research.