Bank of Ireland has said it approved 25% more funding for Small and Medium Enterprises in the first three months of the year.
It added that it is on track to meet its 2013 new and increased SME lending target of €4 billion.
The bank said hospitality, manufacturing and healthcare sectors were driving the higher number of transactions. The bank said it has approved over €1 billion since the beginning of the year.
Bank of Ireland said it advanced half of all new credit to the farming sector in 2012.
Mark Cunningham, Director of Bank of Ireland Business Banking, said that it has seen two trends in the first quarter of this year - a rise in the value of loans granted to SMEs, and some positive momentum in individual sectors in the economy.
