The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, has published the Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 which will provide up to €150m of additional lending per annum to SMEs. The Minister has also appointed Capita Asset Services as an operator for the Temporary Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme.
The primary measures included in the Bill are: Empowering the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to give a 75 percent loan guarantee; procedures for designating a lending institution as a participating lending institution; provision for the payment of a 2 percent premium charge to the Minister by participating SME borrowers; setting of eligibility criteria for borrowers, in line with the European Commission definition of an SME; provision for review of the scheme at any time; and the appointment of a contractor to oversee the operation of the Scheme.
The Bill, which will now be introduced to the Oireachtas will also provide for the establishment of a Temporary Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme.
Minister Bruton has awarded a contract for the practical oversight, management and operation of the Guarantee Scheme to Capita Asset Service, an outsourcing services company. They will operate the Credit Guarantee Scheme from their base in Maynooth Business Campus, County Kildare.
The Minister stated today: “The Credit Guarantee Scheme will benefit innovative, job-creating businesses that face obstacles accessing credit because they do not have enough collateral, or because they operate in sectors which the banks are not familiar with.”