Half of SME bank loans 'not performing'

The head of supervision for credit institutions at the Central Bank is highlighting the scale of the SME lending crisis.

Fiona Muldoon said yesterday that half of the €50bn in bank loans to small and medium firms are non-performing.

She said many business owners are struggling with multiple buy-to-let properties and one of the Central Bank's priorities for 2013 is resolving the over-indebtedness of SMEs.

Irish banks are required to adopt appropriate restructuring or re-underwriting where possible when dealing with SMEs.