Firms not turning to banks for loans

According to a report from the London-based Economic Advisory Group, fewer than one in 10 small or medium-size businesses in Northern Ireland applied for new bank loans in 2012.

EAG chairman Kate Barker said: “Government initiatives in place at a national level are not working as effectively as they should in Northern Ireland, and the level of expertise in banks does not seem sufficient to deal with the wide range of businesses there.

“More should be done to communicate to business the options they have to appeal against the lending decisions of banks; and, of course, the issue of sound trading businesses with debilitating property debt needs to be explored more fully in order to move towards an effective solution.”

However, Northern Ireland Finance Minister Sammy Wilson (pictured) said that the long-term data for Northern Ireland showed the picture was “not as bleak as some might say. The Northern Ireland budget has been insulated from the worst of any UK budget reductions.”

Mr Wilson added that the economy appears to be returning to growth. “I am certain that we face the future in a better position than we might have envisaged after the 2010 Spending Review.”