ISME: Banks reject majority of small business loans

The latest Quarterly Bank Watch lending survey from trade association ISME reports that 54 percent of loan applications from small businesses were rejected in the last quarter.


The rise in bank credit refusals was a 6 percent increase on the last quarter, which was at 48 percent.

According the ISME this shows that for the majority of companies there is a feeling that banks are making it harder for them to get much needed finance.

The Irish Banking Federation (IBF) described the survey as “misleading”.

On the 13th of June the IBF reiterated its support for research on small business lending.

According to the IBF, the Credit Review Office’s recent quarterly report show that the loan approval rates (of banks covered) were around 88%, rough inline with the previous three reports independently produced by Mazars.

SME Loan Approval Rates (Sept.’09-Sept.’10)

The above chart represents Irish SME Loan Approval Rates (Sept.’09-Sept.’10) as per the CSO’s recent Access to Finance 2007-10.

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