Businesses awaiting certainty before taking on new loans – Isme

The business group said there was unlikely to be a significant increase in borrowing within the SME sector until businesses have certainty on 2021 and the lifting of pandemic restrictions

Isme chief executive Neil McDonnell said businesses were awaiting updates on when the economy would reopen. Picture: Sasko Lazarov

Business group Isme said there was unlikely to be a significant increase in borrowing within the SME sector until businesses have certainty on 2021 and the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

It was responding to figures released by the Central Bank that show gross new lending advanced to SMEs in the final three months of 2020 was €1.4bn, significantly below the €1.6bn loaned to businesses in the same period in 2019.