Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
238. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the average cost of borrowing for SMEs here compared to corresponding figures for other euro area countries in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33781/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra286. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the average interest rate on deposits for SMEs here; the equivalent figure in each of the other Eurozone countries in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33932/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 238 and 286 together.
I have been informed by the Central Bank, as set out in the Business Credit and Deposits statistical Table A.14.1 available on the website of the Central Bank, that the outstanding SME loan interest rate as at end-Q1 2018 is 3.30 per cent. The gross new lending weighted interest rate for Q1 2018 is 3.89 per cent, down from 4.10 percent in Q4 2017. This table can be found at https://www.centralbank.ie/statistics/data-and-analysis/credit-and-banking-statistics/business-credit-and-deposits.
The Central Bank does not collect data on SME interest rates outside of Ireland. However, the Deputy may wish to note that the latest ECB Survey on the access to finance of enterprises (SAFE) in respect to October 2017-March 2018, published in June 2018, contains some information on interest rates across EU Member States. The report, which measures a change in interest rates rather than actual rates, shows that interest rates have generally fallen, with a net percentage of EU SMEs confirming the fall at -1%. The report can be accessed https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ecb.accesstofinancesmallmediumsizedenterprises201806.en.pdf?f710aadd09e7d0036678df8612df9104.
The Central Bank of Ireland publishes data on deposit interest rates on a monthly basis. The Retail Interest Rates statistical release of May 2018 states that new business NFC (Non Financial Corporations) term deposits fell by 3 basis points over the last twelve months, and stood at -0.02 per cent in May. This can be seen in Table B 2.1, which can be found at
https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/statistics/data-and-analysis/credit-and-banking-statistics/retail-interest-rates/data/ie_table_b-2-1_retail_interest_rates_and_volumes_-_loans_and_deposits_new_business-new.xlsx?sfvrsn=51.
The ECB also releases monthly data on Euro area bank interest rate statistics. The May 2018 Euro Area Bank Interest Rate release, published on July 3rd, shows that corresponding new business NFC term deposit rates for the euro area fell by 2 basis point over the same period, to 0.10 per cent, the link to the release is https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pdf/mfi/mir1805.pdf?57e1b46d38ba66ea153a7587d5c258bc, while the table can be found at http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/reports.do?node=1000005757.
