ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, has cautiously welcomed the decision by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’ Keefe, to call in the banks to discuss their lack of lending to viable SME businesses.
The Association has outlined that clear and decisive action is required to force the banks to open their lending channels, which have effectively remained shut.
According to ISME Head of Research, Jim Curran, “On the face of it, the announcement by the Minister should be viewed in a positive light. However, the SME sector has for too long been promised decisive action by Government to address this serious issue, with no progress to date. It is imperative that the Minister is true to his word and intervenes to force the banks to start opening up lending channels to small businesses. Any banks that fail to comply should automatically be refused any further state assistance, with regard to their recapitilisation programme”.
“The Minister should impress upon the bankers that they have benefited massively at the expense of the taxpayers, including thousands of small businesses. In return they have consistently ignored the plight of the SME sector, which has been starved of badly needed credit, with serious consequences for both companies and jobs. The role of the banks is crucial to the survival of Irish businesses.
They should not be allowed to ignore this fact by once again maintaining their self interest to the detriment of everyone else” concluded Curran.
