Has your business been refused credit by the bank?

Establishment of the Credit Review Service to Support Access to Finance for SMEs

The Credit Review Service, an independent body designed to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including farm enterprises, who have been refused credit or have had existing facilities reduced or withdrawn by a bank has been established on 1^st July.

The Credit Review Service will provide an impartial and transparent review process for credit decisions made by banks. Where an application for credit of up to €3 million has been declined – or an existing facility reduced – the borrower can apply to the Service for an independent review.

This work has been carried out by its predecessor body, the Credit Review Office since 2010 and has given valuable assistance to viable SME and farm businesses in obtaining bank credit.

The Credit Review Service aims to:

• improve trust between SMEs and financial institutions
• ensure viable businesses are not unfairly denied credit
• encourage consistency in credit assessment practices
• promote economic activity and job creation.

To date 59% of SMEs who had been refused credit and completed an appeal have had their appeals upheld and as a result banks have agreed to provide credit of €86m to SMEs and farmers

How to Apply

Eligible borrowers can apply to the Credit Review Service by providing details of their original credit application, the lender’s decision, and supporting financial information. The SME  borrower should have exhausted any internal appeals process provided by the Bank.

Further details, including eligibility criteria and application procedures, are available at  https://www.creditreview.ie/.

Mark Fielding    2^nd July 2026.