Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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422. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applications received for the Covid-19 working capital loan scheme by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland to date; the number approved for funding; the number of companies that received loans; the value of the loans issued to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7464/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The SBCI Covid-19 Working Capital Scheme opened for eligibility applications on 23 March. The scheme is offered by my Department in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The scheme is operated by the SBCI. It currently makes available a fund of up to €200m to eligible businesses that have been negatively affected by impacts arising from the outbreak of Covid-19 to enable those businesses to innovate, change or adapt in response to the current business environment. Following my announcement on 8 April this Scheme is now being expanded to make available an additional €250m in lending, which will bring the total amount of lending available under this scheme to €450m.

Loans under this scheme are offered with a maximum interest rate of 4%. This represents a significant saving compared to other similar lending on the market for SMEs. Furthermore, this loan product provides for unsecured loans of up to €500,000. Such a feature would not typically be available through normal bank loan products to SMEs, however, due to the guarantee structure in place for the Covid-19 Working Capital Scheme it was feasible to provide for collateral-free loans and this provides for a significant reassurance for many businesses.

The scheme features a two-stage application process. Businesses must first confirm their eligibility with the SBCI. Successful applicants will be issued an eligibility reference number, which they can then use to apply for a loan with one of the participating finance providers. Approval of loans is subject to the finance providers’ own credit policies and procedures.

As at 18 May, a total of 2,305 candidates have been deemed eligible to apply under the scheme at bank level. Of those, 248 have progressed to sanction at bank level to a total value of €37,811,000 worth of loan approvals.