Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 June 2016
154. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Finance the precise number and percentage of small and medium enterprises refused funding for the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland scheme in each of the eight stated regions in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14978/16]
View answerThe Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) does not lend directly to SMEs. It uses a network of lending partners known as 'on lenders' to make its funds available to eligible businesses. The SBCI commenced lending via its initial on lending partners in March 2015. To the end of December 2015, in the first 10 months of its operation, the SBCI has ensured that almost €172 million has been lent to c. 4,600 SMEs with broad coverage across various business sectors and in all regions of the country.
The current on lending partners of the SBCI are: AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Finance Ireland, First Citizen and Merrion Fleet Management. In the first instance, SMEs apply to one of these six on lenders who carry out a credit approval assessment on the loan applications. Where a loan application does not meet the credit underwriting requirements of the on lender, the SBCI is not advised of the application or its outcome. Consequently, it is therefore not possible to report on applications refused at this point in the process.
If a loan application meets the on lender's credit underwriting requirements it will also be assessed, by the on lender, to examine whether or not it meets the SBCI's eligibility requirements.
The three main criteria for SBCI eligibility are:
1. That the activity of the borrower is eligible for SBCI funding
2. That the borrower is an eligible SME under the EU definition of an SME
3. That the borrower is eligible under EU State Aid rules
If the on lender considers that the application meets the above eligibility requirements it is submitted to the SBCI. The SBCI will then review the application to ensure that its eligibility criteria are met. In a small number of cases, the SBCI has refused applications on eligibility grounds. To the end of May 2016, the SBCI has refused a total of 23 applications submitted to it by on lenders. These refusals were for various eligibility reasons and represent c.0.3% of the total applications received by the SBCI since its inception. As the number of refusals is low, it is not possible to provide a regional breakdown as to do so may potentially identify the SMEs involved.
It should be noted that, even where a borrower does not meet the SBCI's criteria, it is open to the on lender to provide the loan using its usual funding sources.
