The SBCI has published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2020.
Key information:
- During 2020 the SBCI had supported 7,639 SMEs with facilities totalling €836m through all its product lines. Since it commenced operations in March 2015 the SBCI has supported 36,000 liquidity and guarantee facilities totalling €2.3bn.
- At end Dec 2020, SBCI had teamed up with 10 on-lenders to provide lower-cost SME finance (3 new on-lenders in 2020).
- Very broad geographical spread of SBCI loans across all regions during 2020, with Mid-East at 10% and South-West at 15% (loan numbers).
- Strong sectoral spread. Agriculture continues to be the biggest sector at 29%, with Wholesale and Retail at 15%, Construction at 11%, Manufacturing at 9% and Accommodation and Food Services at 7%.
- 72% of loans used by SMEs to invest in growing the business and 28% for working capital.
- 2020 highlights included the launch of the Covid-19 Working Capital Scheme, the expansion of the Future Growth Loan Scheme by an additional €500m and the launch of the Government’s €2bn Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme.
- A total of 28 on-lenders, including banks, non-banks and credit unions have signed up to deliver the Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme expanding the choice of providers for SMEs and Primary producers.
- New on-lenders and additional risk-sharing planned for 2021 and beyond.
Comment by Ian Black, Interim CEO of SBCI:
“The SBCI is delivering on its mandate to drive competition and increase choice in the Irish SME lending market. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SBCI achieved strong growth in new lending in 2020, demonstrating the positive impact of the SBCI’s lower cost funding and guarantee schemes on the Irish SME finance market.
The SBCI’s Annual Report today restates the strategic direction for the SBCI for the coming years, pointing out our pivotal role as a conduit for the effective use of EU SME supports relevant to Irish businesses”.