News & Events

Minister Breen welcomes the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland as the new Operator of the Credit Guarantee Schemes

Credit Guarantee Schemes operation transferred to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland

The Minister for Employment and Small Business, Mr. Pat Breen, T.D., has announced that the role of Operator of these Schemes, with effect from today 17 October 2016, has transferred from Capita Asset Services Ireland Ltd to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).

Commenting on the transfer of operations today, Minister Breen said:- 

“When we started out with the 2012 Scheme, the expertise needed to do this job did not exist within the State services, and we were very fortunate to be able to call upon the skills of Capita to do it for us. At this point, I wish to publicly acknowledge the appreciation and gratitude of the Government for the hard working and professional manner in which Capita has performed the role over the past 4 years.”

Minister Breen went on to say:-

“A big change in the financial environment in recent years was the establishment of the SBCI as a national promotional financial institution. When the Government was upgrading the original legislation on credit guarantees, it decided to take advantage of the new expertise now available through SBCI in this arena to take over the role of Operator of Credit Guarantee Schemes. This change, together with the rollout of new market-led Schemes and products, will boost the uptake of finance by our SMEs, facilitate the growth of their businesses, and ensure the creation of new jobs in every region of Ireland.”

Schemes made under the Credit Guarantee Acts 2012 and 2016 provide for the State to share with banks the risk of making loans to Irish SMEs, and to boost bank lending for the purpose of promoting growth and job creation by those SMEs. Since 2012, these Schemes have resulted in some €60 million of additional loans being sanctioned for about 400 SMEs, and this finance is estimated to have created or maintained approximately 2.500 jobs, across all regions and all sectors of the economy.

 

ENDS

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Note for Editors

Under Credit Guarantee Schemes made in 2012 and 2015, the State has been involved in sharing with the banks the risk of lending to SMEs in order to boost bank lending to those SMEs for growth and job creation. Latest statistics are as set out above.

After a review of the operation of the Schemes, the Government successfully piloted amending legislation through the Oireachtas providing for the following:-

  1. Improved Credit Guarantees by 1/ taking even higher State risk, and 2/ covering loans other than bank loans (eg. discounting, factoring etc); and

  2. Introduction of new Counter Guarantees under which the Minister and SBCI can together leverage EU funding to finance the growth of our SMEs:

This legislation was commenced with effect from 1 October 2016 and, with the change of Operator now finalised, the focus will switch to the rollout of new Schemes on Credit and Counter Guarantees in the period ahead.

For further information contact Press Office, D/Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, ph. 6312200 or press.office@djei.ie