Statements & Blogs

4 May - SBCI low-cost funding now supporting 67,000 jobs in 12,500 Irish SMEs

SBCI low-cost funding now supporting 67,000 jobs in 12,500 Irish SMEs

Thursday 4th May 2017

The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) is now supporting 12,500 Irish SMEs employing 67,000 people with its low-cost loans, according to a new economic impact report published today.

The report was published to coincide with the SBCI’s appearance today at the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach.

The report’s key findings include:

  • 12,500 Irish SMEs employing 67,000 people have benefited from SBCI loans totalling €544m – average loan size €43,000
  • During 2016 employment numbers in the SME sector increased by 31,000
  • SBCI loan rates are on average 1.15% lower than market rates – saving SMEs money and freeing up cash for use in their business
  • A new €150m fund for farm loans was fully committed within just 5 weeks of launch in January 2017, bringing major cashflow benefits to 4,000 farmers with unsecured loans at a special low rate of 2.95%
  • The Government recently extended the SBCI’s remit to include operating and managing the Credit Guarantee Scheme
  • The top 5 sectors benefiting from SBCI loans are
    • Accommodation/food
    • Agriculture
    • Health
    • Wholesale and retail
    • Administration and support services
  • SBCI product range now includes Term Lending, Leasing, HP, Fleet Finance and Invoice Financing
  • SBCI borrowers are more likely to use their loans for investing in growing the business - 85%of SBCI loans are being used for growth and investment purposes (compared with 36% of the Irish SME lending market generally)

SBCI Chief Executive Nick Ashmore said:

“2016 was a year of major progress by the SBCI as we lent significantly more money and added more lending partners – bringing the total number of SBCI loan providers to 8.

We also sourced additional low-cost funding from two new sources, which will allow us to bring more competition, more choice and better deals for Irish SMEs.

We are working hard to bring more lending partners and new risk-sharing loan products to the market in the coming months.

The recent success of our €150m Agriculture Cashflow Support Scheme shows that Ireland’s job creators are crying out for innovative low-cost loans and we are well placed to bring more of these to the market quickly.

With these additions to our loan programme, coupled with enhancements to the Credit Guarantee Scheme, we look forward to delivering effective, attractive supports for Irish SMEs in 2017 and beyond”.

Issued on behalf of the SBCI by

David Clerkin

Gordon MRM

Ph: + 353 1 665 0454

Mob: + 353 87 830 1779

e: david@gordonmrm.ie