Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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196. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the full €800 million of Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland funding has not been allocated; and when the remaining €400 million will be allocated. [10031/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) was incorporated 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.

As the Deputy will be aware, the SBCI launched its first product programme on the 19th February 2015 and lending commenced on the 9th March 2015 through both Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank Plc.  An initial sum of €400m has been allocated between Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks Plc. for lending to SMEs.  The Government's aim for the SBCI is to enhance the range and profile of SME finance providers in Ireland.  The SBCI will achieve this by working with existing and new providers to develop specific funding products and by supporting new entrants to the SME lending market through allocating the remaining €400m to a number of new and non-traditional SME finance providers.  It is also an objective of the SBCI to encourage competition within the SME funding market through the provision of funding to a broad range of potential lending partners.  

The allocation  of funding across a broader range of lending partners diversifies risk for the SBCI and is prudent in the context of managing funds provided by the state and other funding partners including EIB and KfW.   

At present, the SBCI is actively engaged with other potential lending partners in regards to their operational capability with the ambition to become SBCI lending partners during 2015 thereby providing Irish SMEs with greater choice in securing the most appropriate funding for their business needs.