There has been a widespread welcome for the launch of a specific €300m lending fund for small and medium-sized firms by the European Investment Bank.

The fund will be distributed through a number of the commercial banks and is available at rates below current lending rates to business.   Mark Fielding, the chief executive of the small business lobby group ISME, said it had "lobbied long and hard" to ensure that this funding was made available to hard-pressed firms.   "They are still finding it extremely difficult to access bank finance.   It is essential that this funding is made available immediately and is administered without unnecessary bureaucracy or charges," he said.

Announcing the details in Dublin, the EIB said Irish SMEs should begin to benefit in coming weeks. Three banks -- AIB, Ulster and Bank of Ireland -- will act as intermediaries, passing on the funds to companies with projects "which further EU policy objectives".   "Ensuring access to finance for small firms is a crucial element of the EIB's strategy to help Europe through the current crisis," EIB vice president Plutarchos Sakellaris said.

These new loans are in addition to €50m recently made available to Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to finance investment projects, part of a Stg£250m loan to its parent bank, HBOS. In total, the EIB hopes to make €30bn available to SMEs across the EU.   Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, speaking at the launch, described the €350m total as a "significant facility" for small businesses.   Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell said the bank could be in a position to offer more loans to small business.   Mr Mitchell, who presented a report on the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to the European Parliament said the funding was "a sign of European solidarity".

"The amount of money now available from the EIB is up 50pc, and I expect there will be more money for Ireland," he said.   The EIB said it had made changes to the way its loans are organised, to make them simpler, more flexible and more transparent to benefit a greater number of small businesses.

Source: Independent.ie