Dáil debates

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

2:30 pm

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. He will appreciate that I am not au faitwith the inner workings of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. I will certainly raise the matters the Deputy has raised with the Minister for Finance because it is essential that any public body should operate solely within the legislation passed by this House to provide for it.

The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has a mandate to deliver access to finance for Irish enterprises, particularly SMEs, to correct failures in the Irish credit market while encouraging competition. The SBCI does not aim to maximise profits but aims to provide cheaper funding on better terms to small business. It began lending in March 2015 and from then until the end of June 2017 the SBCI has lent €855 million to 21,000 Irish companies employing 100,000 people. The average interest rate it offers is 1.15 percentage points lower than the average market interest rate on loans to SMEs.

All sectors of the economy benefit from SBCI financing, including manufacturing, agriculture, food, retail, health care, transport and construction. The majority of SBCI loans are used for investment purposes and SMEs supported by the SBCI are based in all regions of the company - some 85% of the lending has been to businesses outside Dublin.

It does not lend directly but does so through partner finance providers, known as on-lenders. It currently has three bank and five non-bank lenders. These are AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Merrion Fleet, First Citizen Finance, Finance Ireland, Bibby Financial Services Ireland and FEXCO asset management. Some 23.2% of its funding has gone to the agricultural sector and, as I mentioned, 85% of it is outside Dublin.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.