Fexco boosts SME loan kitty by €40m

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe on a visit to Fexco RDI Hub in Killorglin, Co Kerry. 

Kerry-based financial services company Fexco has announced an additional €40m in SME loan availability.

The money will be lent through Fexco Asset Finance’s SME lending partnership with the State’s Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. The partnership has already lent €100m to SMEs since 2016, with the SBCI saying nearly 43,000 Irish SMEs are benefitting from funding which it supports.

“Our collaboration with SBCI has allowed us to support thousands of Irish SMEs with funding at a discounted rate," said Fexco Asset Finance chief executive Mike O'Halloran.

"With SMEs employing over one million people in Ireland, we know that providing support is vital to the country’s economic success," he said.

Visiting Fexco's Killorglin headquarters, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said the additional SME loan fund "will ensure ongoing lower-cost borrowing for specialist equipment and vehicles, providing opportunities for our vitally important SME sector to expand and grow despite the significant challenges of not only Covid-19 but also adjusting to Brexit.”

FAF is a well-established finance house in the Irish market, offering finance solutions including lease and hire purchase business loans.

The SBCI partnership scheme allows qualifying SMEs to continue to borrow from FAF at an interest rate that is a 2.07% discount on FAF’s normal market rates.