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
4:10 pm
Mr. Bernard Byrne:
I will open with a general comment and then hand over to Mr. Burke and Mr. O'Callaghan. The main advice is their track record matters and, therefore, the performance of their account is important, particularly for smaller applications, say, below €25,000. Most of them are based on their track record. If someone has a performing account, that will be a huge credit to him or her applying for a small credit. When applying for something beyond that or incremental to one's business, which is different, it comes down to a credible business plan that has been well prepared and makes the justifiable argument as to why somebody should be given cash now for cash he or she will generate from his or her business in the future. It is cash flow.