In a recent interview with reporter Brendan Garrett of deBanked Magazine, New York, entitled “Ireland’s Alternative Finance Industry and the Coronavirus” BusinessLoans.ie MD Rupert Hogan gave his insights on business finance in the current climate alongside Jamie Heaslip of Flender Finance, Chris Burge of Spark Crowdfunding and Garrett Cassidy of Trezeo.

Rupert Hogan “explained that some businesses would be better going with LEO over banks and even some non-banks. Noting that non-bank lenders can’t compete with the rates offered by LEO and, just like in the US, banks can’t act with the speed that these business owners need. And described the current situation as The Great Lockdown and banks aren’t too helpful, even in the good times, due to the high rejection rates that SMEs experience when looking for loans. In regards to merchant cash advances, he’s expecting, when the MCA companies reopen, that they’ll be funding at reduced rates, some doing as much as 50% less than their pre-coronavirus amounts.”

The article concludes, “altogether, Ireland’s alternative finance industry, like others the world over, has been hit hard by the coronavirus’s economic effects. With the country’s phased lifting of the lockdown being plotted out over the course of the summer, the island nation may not see as quick a return to commerce as certain American states, but its fintechs and non-banks hope to stick around, by hook or by crook, as the Irish say, by any means possible.” We at www.BusinessLoans.ie agree.

Rupert Hogan MD BusinessLoans.ie & Sean Murray Editor deBanked when they met in Dublin October 2019.