Use of credit guarantee scheme up by €20m since December

An extra €20 million in loans has been drawn down since mid-December

Banking sources have said there has been an increase in the rate of applications in the last month or so

The take-up of loans under the state’s credit guarantee scheme has increased by almost a fifth over the past month.

Figures released by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, which passed on the funding from the state to the banks which are part of the scheme, show that €118 million has been drawn down by 2,249 companies. The figure is up by about €20 million since the middle of December.

It is expected that there ...