More than half of the 882 smaller companies that responded to an ISME survey on access to credit from banks said they had been turned down.
The quarterly Bank Watch Survey reveals that 54% of small and medium sized businesses were turned down in the last three months. That compares to 48% refused credit in the prior three months.
ISME said that 72% of its members feel banks are once again making it more difficult to access finance despite pronouncements to the contrary.
30% of respondents had requested additional or new bank facilities in the last three months, up from 25% in the previous quarter. 58% of requests were for changes to overdrafts, with 42% for term loans.
'The results of today's survey clearly shows that the problem of reduced access to credit for SMEs has returned to the worst figures since the crisis began, contrary to the claims of the cheerleaders from the banks, who claim that credit is plentiful,' commented ISME's chief executive Mark Fielding.
He urged the Finance Minister to order a complete and accurate figure of new and increased lending to SMEs from the banks.
