Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Fielding. Representatives of the various banks have appeared before the joint committee in recent weeks to discuss this topic. In moving back and forth between the banks and the ISME on the figures for lending rates and refusals, I asked the bank representatives whether there was a need for independent verification of the data. What is Mr. Fielding's view in this regard? Is there a standard methodology that could be put in place? I am not in any way casting doubt on his data, but a figure of 924 responses from SME owner-managers equates to a response rate of 9.5%. Is he concerned about the low response rate in reference to the accuracy of the statistics? Is there a need to take account of the possibility that those who are annoyed with their bank because their loan application was refused are more likely to respond to such surveys than they would be if everything was wonderful?

Is Mr. Fielding satisfied with the resources available to the Credit Review Office in the context of the work it has to do? He has mentioned that 65% of SME owners have heard of the office. When this issue was raised with the delegates from the banks, they observed that a significant proportion of the businesses in respect of which loan refusals had been overturned by the CRO failed within a period of time. Their view was that they were doing everything right and proper in this regard.

Mr. Fielding referred to increased competition and his experience of the banking sector from the 1970s through the 1990s. Is it his view that there was a more intimate relationship between bank managers and their clients in the past and that such engagements have become more impersonal as the country grows? He referred to the importance of managers having a feel for the likely success or otherwise of a new business. Is he saying a decline in that type of expertise might account for some of the increase in the number of refusals?