Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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222. To ask the Minister for Finance when the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland will be fully operational; the total amount of funds available from the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland; the retail banks it will have a relationship with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5789/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) will be operational in Q1 2015 and this is a key deliverable as detailed in the Government's Action Plan for Jobs 2015.

I incorporated the SBCI in September 2014 and since then the SBCI has made considerable progress in building relations with lending partners and in constructing the complex operational capability required to bring products to market. These include establishing operational capability with funders and lending partners, building internal systems and business processes, and establishing a team to safely and effectively manage the funding provided on behalf of the State.  In that regard, it is worth pointing out that both the CEO of KfW and the President of the European Investment Bank have complimented the Government's work on the establishment of the SBCI noting that the project from concept to establishment was achieved much more promptly than similar initiatives in other countries. 

Both Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks Plc. are the first SBCI's lending partners.  The SBCI will leverage these banks' extensive distribution networks to reach as many prospective SME borrowers as possible.  The SBCI is also working with other traditional banks as well as non-bank providers of finance such as providers of invoice discounting, leasing and asset based finance to broaden the funding options available to the SME sector through the availability of SBCI monies.  

The SBCI is funded to the value of €800m, of which €150m is from KfW, €400m from the European Investment Bank and €250m sourced from the National Pension Reserve Fund, which has since become the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund - [ISIF]. The ISIF funds are broken down further into a repayable loan from the ISIF of €240m and an equity investment in the name of the Minister for Finance to the value of €10m. After the initial period of operations, the SBCI in conjunction with its funders, will review its funding requirements for its further development. 

The SBCI drew down €200m of its funding from the European Investment Bank during December 2014 so that funds could be borrowed by its lending partners to be distributed to SMEs. 

The SBCI is preparing for a nationwide launch of its products shortly.  The Government's aim for the SBCI is to change the range and profile of SME finance providers in Ireland.  The SBCI are achieving this by working with existing and new providers to develop enhanced products and by supporting new entrants to the SME lending market.