An initiative has been launched to assist small and medium-sized businesses access funding in Northern Ireland. The Finance Voucher initiative has been launched by Invest NI and will provide support for businesses to access professional help to prepare funding proposals. Businesses will be able to use the voucher to cover up to 49 per cent…
We’re pleased to hear that later this month small businesses from Belfast will have an opportunity to talk directly to the Northern Ireland’s high street banks and hear from the Minister of Finance and Personnel, Sammy Wilson MP MLA, about the best ways to boost Northern Ireland’s economy. Commenting on the event, to be held…
From NorthernIreland.gov.uk: Braveheart Investment Group plc has been appointed to manage the Growth Loan Fund, which aims to generate £150million sales growth per annum for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The fund forms a key component of Invest Northern Ireland’s wider Access to Finance strategy, with the objective of stimulating the availability of risk capital…
2012 business prospects,especially in relation to Banks and their behaviour show no signs of improvement. Reported “business as usual” in relation to future Bank borrowings is a total myth. Let me give you an example from mid December 2011:- Client (sole trader) has been a loyal Bank customer since 1972. I quote from a Bank…
Let’s start with the bald facts. Ireland is broke. That’s not new news. John Stepek wrote about the parlous state of the country’s finances exactly a year ago: Ireland’s banking woes could spark another eurozone crisis. But here’s the quick version of how it happened. Ireland used to enjoy steady economic growth. But things got…
Consumer confidence took a sharp downturn during April, new figures have indicated. In its latest survey, market research group GfK NOP found that all five of the measures of consumer confidence it usually tracks slipped back in the month. The index slumped by a further three points, sinking to -31, compared with the -16 recorded…
The bank’s parent, the Dublin-based AIB group, is cutting 2,000 posts by the end of next year. AIB executive chairman David Hodgkinson warned the job losses would “spread widely across the group”. The First Trust has 48 high street branches in Northern Ireland, employing 1,300 staff, but the AIB has said branch closures will be…
Consumer confidence in Northern Ireland has experienced its sharpest decline since 2008, according to Northern Bank. The latest findings are contained in the bank’s Consumer Confidence survey. The survey looks at the financial position of local households and their expectations for the year ahead. Its chief economist, Angela McGowan, said: “Consumers are fretting about reduced…
Such banks are “caught in a maelstrom of interlinked pressures” the IMF said. The low levels of capital make some German banks, as well as weak Italian, Portuguese and Spanish savings banks, “vulnerable to further shocks”. But it said global financial stability had improved in the past half year. The findings came in the IMF’s…
Irelands Central Bank believes that ploughing billions more into the Banking system is too costly and it is now exploring “cheaper” measures to fix the current problems. The news comes after a week of feverish discussion on further support for Irish Banks, with up to €30bn of the country’s €80bn bailout believed to have been…
