Almost three quarters of credit applications by small and medium-sized businesses were fully or partially approved in the six months to the end of September, according to a survey for the Department of Finance.
The latest SME Credit Demand Survey by Red C shows that 74% of applications were fully or partially approved between April and September, compared to 65% in the six months to March.
There was a 3% decline in the amount of declined applications to 12%, while the proportion of applications still pending fell 6% to 14%.
The overall number of SMEs making credit applications during the period fell, however, with 31% making requests compared to 36% to the end of March.
The majority of SMEs surveyed – 81% - said they did not seek credit because they did not need it. This was 1% lower than in the October 2013 to March 2014 period.
A further 3% said they did not seek credit as they believed banks were not lending, while 1% said they did not borrow because it was too expensive to do so.
Overall, 49% of the SMEs surveyed reported an in increase turnover during the six months to the end of September, up 11% on the previous survey.
Just over 15% said turnover had fallen during the period, compared to around a quarter in the six months to March.
Less than a third – 30% - of respondents said staffing numbers had risen in the past six months, with 7% saying staffing levels had fallen.
Meanwhile, 83% of SMEs surveyed said they had broken even or made a profit in the six months to September – up slightly on the previous survey.
