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Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Questions (178)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

178. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 1 of 25 March 2021. if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the remaining lenders of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland future growth loan scheme will not lend to the hospitality industry; if the hospitality industry is excluded from the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19331/21]

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Written answers

The Future Growth Loan Scheme makes up to €800m in lending available to SMEs and small mid-caps (businesses of up to 499 employees) seeking financing for long-term strategic investment, including in response to the impacts of Brexit and COVID-19.

As of 12 April 2021, 3,293 loans have been sanctioned through the Future Growth Loan Scheme to the value of €691.24m.

Funding under the scheme is made available through participating finance providers: AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB, KBC and Close Brothers. As was noted in the response to the initial query of 25 March, the scheme has seen rapid uptake and as such a number of the participating finance providers are currently closed to new applications as they work through their respective “pipelines” of existing applicants. That pipeline is expected to amount to further tens of millions of lending through those participating providers.

As previously noted, Close Brothers and KBC remain open to new applications under the scheme. The hospitality sector is not excluded from lending under the scheme, however lending under the scheme is subject to the participating finance providers’ own credit policies and procedures. As of the most recent quarterly report (to end December 2020), businesses in the accommodation and food service sector account for approximately €21.68m of the lending drawn under the scheme.

Given the limited funding remaining in the Future Growth Loan Scheme, I would again encourage businesses that are seeking funding for investment purposes in order to respond to or mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 to consider the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme to address their financing needs at this time.

The COVID-19 CGS is the largest loan guarantee scheme in the history of the State and also provides for access to finance for investment purposes. It provides for up to €2 billion in lending for terms up to five-and-a-half years, and offers a range of lending products between €10,000 and €1m and is available to SMEs and small mid-caps (business with less than 500 employees), including those in the hospitality sector.

To date (1 April), 4,020 loans have been drawn down by applicants to the scheme, to a total value of €246.39m. To date, €34.43m of lending under the scheme has been to businesses in the accommodation and food services sector.

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