Lending data now available

Lending data for Northern Ireland have been published for the first time by the British Banking Association (BBA) in a move strongly welcomed by business representatives. The first release covers Q3 2013 and Q4 2013.

“Knowledge provides insight,” BBA Chief Executive Anthony Browne commented. “More transparency will give everyone a clearer understanding of how the province’s economy is performing.” Browne found that the consumer and business borrowing levels reflected the wider economic trends in Northern Ireland after the global financial crisis. The strong growth in lending to SMEs – up by £6 million between the quarters – was “very heartening”.

The figures are available online at www.bba.org.uk/statistics and follow on from the publication of postcode level data for Great Britain (first released in December).

Northern Ireland’s data are published at a regional level and sub-divided into household and business transactions, along with a breakdown according to economic sectors. The BBA was wary of releasing data at postcode level as this could compromise confidentiality and encourage large banks to compete unfairly with local lenders.

“More transparency on bank lending has been a key ‘ask’ of the business community for some time,” said CBI Northern Ireland Director Nigel Smyth.

“The business community and the Northern Ireland Executive were united in the view that, in order to shed proper light on the bank lending picture locally, we needed a mechanism by which we could properly assess the contribution being made to local businesses.”