Call for return to ‘normal’ lending practices

AIB and Bank of Ireland must get back to more normal lending practices now they have passed crucial tests on their financial strength, Fine Gael MEP and former junior finance minister Brian Hayes has said.

Mr Hayes said lending to businesses has continued at “an extremely slow pace” in recent years and it is time for that to change. “This will encourage investment and stimulate growth right across the EU,” he said.

Mr Hayes said banks had engaged in “ultra-cautions lending policies” in the run up to the stress tests, which were published by European banking regulators yesterday.