SME's and the Banks

[mickeyg]

A friend of mine has been trying to get a business loan (short term bridging loan really) from Ulster bank. It is proving to be very frustrating particularly as the level of security/collateral they are looking for is a large multiple of the loan amount.
Has this been people's experience with the other banks also?
What about the €300m which was given to the 3 Irish banks by the Euro Investment Bank to provide for loans to the SME sector?
Is everything on hold pending the rollout of NAMA??

 

[sartay]

Yeah that seems to be the case alright. A friend of mine has been banking with Ulster Bank for years and they wouldn't give him a loan of a few k for specific business development expenses that he needed. He's tried going elsewhere but keeps coming up against a wall. That much touted SME fund seems to have absolutely no substance.

 

[CompanyForm]

Yes, we had a number of clients with the same problem. A lot of cherry-picking going on unfortunately. I'd like to see whether they release figures on businesses that have actually availed of this fund. More of an election stunt to keep ISME off their backs I fear...