Bank chiefs face committee grilling

SENIOR bank officials will appear before a Dáil committee today to explain to small businesses why successive interest rate cuts have not improved the availability of loans.

The managing director of AIB, Donal Forde, and Bank of Ireland’s chief executive of retail financial services, Ritchie Boucher, will be asked to answer queries from representatives of small and medium-sized businesses.

Chairman of the Oireachtas finance and public services committee Michael Ahern said the meeting was scheduled because the frozen credit markets have become a severe handicap for small operators.