Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Access to Finance for SMEs: Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and AIB

2:00 pm

Mr. Richie Boucher:

I do not have access to ISME’s figures, the survey sample size, etc. I know other surveys of the sector as a whole have been done on behalf of the Department of Finance. I said earlier that there are banks exiting the country and others unsure of what they are doing. I can only speak for Bank of Ireland. If I give a figure, it has to be verified because our investors and shareholders are making a decision every day of the week, every hour of the day, as to whether they buy or sell Bank of Ireland shares. It might be verified by our own auditors or separate teams in the bank. The 85% figure is a consistent figure.