SME lending rose 1% last year to €5.4bn, Central Bank figures show

Lending to small and medium-sized businesses jumped in the final three months of 2019 on the back of increased funding for property-related investments, new figures reveal.

According to data from the Central Bank, gross new lending to SMEs was €1.6 billion in the fourth quarter, with lending for the full-year up 1 per cent versus 2018 to €5.4 billion.

The data shows net lending totalled €311 million in the quarter, the largest quarterly increase in lending since the Central Bank started recording the figures. Annually, repayments exceeded new lending by €759 million last year.

The outstanding stock of SME credit on the balance sheets of Irish banks fell by 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter and by year-end stood at €21.5 billion. Core SME credit accounted for €14.3 billion of all lending, with €7.1 billion attributed to property-related sectors.

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Deposits by private sector enterprises rose 5.9 per cent versus the third quarterly and on an annual basis was up 17.1 per cent.

The total outstanding amount of credit to all Irish private-sector enterprises stood at€74.2 billion, the data shows.

Net lending to large enterprises decreased by €570 million in the final three months of 2019 and increased by €580 million annually.