SMEs account for the vast majority of active enterprises by number and employ about two thirds of the Irish workforce.2 In Ireland, the majority of SME investment is financed through internal funds.3 For external financing, bank lending and leasing are the two largest sources of funds.4 Recognising the challenges faced by the SME sector, the Central Bank has issued regulations that aim to strengthen protections while also facilitating access to credit, by introducing specific requirements that regulated lenders must comply with.5 The provision of credit to SMEs in Ireland was undoubtedly severely affected by the financial crisis.
Default rates remain elevated, the most recent SME market report shows default rates across all sectors are on average 22.6%.6 The total credit outstanding to non-financial, non-real estate SMEs stands at € billion in Q1 2018.7 Today, the provision of bank credit to SMEs in 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  Ireland is very concentrated.