Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Depending on who one talks to, there are very different views on SME lending. It was indicated that 85% of lending applications had been approved at some level, while ISME, for example, would give a different figure of probably around 50%.

They would indicate that there has been a fall-off in lending. Is any of the new lending indicated a roll-over of debt or financing of a previous debt? What are the impediments from the SME side in terms of lending and what are the impediments from the side of the banks in terms of lending to individuals? There are informal methods by which banks do not provide loans. One of those ways would be literally an informal conversation and another could be the length of time taken to process a credit line, which it might be necessary to do very quickly. I would welcome a comment in that regard.

There is also a view that bank staff are not fully trained or sufficiently skilled to deliver SME lending. Most of them have spent their early years giving loans to the property sector. We also hear that many businesses who are looking to purchase retail premises in provincial towns find it impossible to get a loan for that purpose. What are the plans of the banks to ensure access for SMEs in the regions in terms of the geographical footprint of branches throughout the State? Do they have plans to increase or decrease the number of branches?

In addition to lending, debt distress is a massive issue for banks. We hear that 50% of SMEs are in debt distress. How many of the SME clients of the bank are in debt distress? Does the bank have figures for the past two years for the amount of businesses in debt distress that ended up closing? What solutions does the bank offer to businesses in debt distress? What kind of restructuring has it given? Were write-downs offered on certain debt distress? Debt distress in itself has a major impact on the level of employment within the State. We heard recently from Morgan Kelly that it was feared that if the ECB changed its policy on the debt distress of SMEs and sought to accelerate the cleaning up of those loans that it would have an enormous effect on the economy and employment. What are the views of the bank in that regard?