Firms call for probe into bailed-out banks’ loan books

The Government has been urged to demand that bailed-out banks open their books after a study found Ireland was second only to Greece in terms of refusing loans to small firms.

Business groups said the Central Bank survey backed their long-standing argument that access to finance was being denied to viable but vulnerable firms.

The report revealed that more than 25% of small and medium-sized businesses had been turned down for a loan or overdraft in the six months to March — twice the eurozone average.