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
3:50 pm
Mr. Ken Burke:
It is not something we would herald, to say that a significant number of the cases overturned have got into trouble. That is not something we are saying. I would reinforce the point that the customer speaks to our internal appeals process and to the external appeals process before a customer even gets to that point. There is a four eyes principle in all our branches, business centres and direct channels, therefore, before something is declined it goes to another lender who reviews. The basic premise is that we are trying to make the loan. We are trying to find a way to afford the credit. It may not necessarily be on the same terms or conditions the customer sought it or it may not be for the same amount but our starting point is whether we can afford this credit to the customer.