Background
The CCR New Non-Bank Lending publication (henceforth referred to as “New Lending”) presents data on monthly new loans to Irish enterprises originated by non-banks. The series provides breakdowns by borrower, lender and loan type, including company size and maturity of the loan at origination. This data is published for the first time as a Frontier Statistics release, indicating that the methods and data are subject to revision. The series will be updated on a quarterly basis and with a two-quarter lag. Read more about Frontier Statistics here.
CCR New Lending figures are compiled from the Central Credit Register (CCR), a database containing records of loans and loan applications of over €500 borrowed by Irish residents or governed by Irish law. The CCR is established by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Credit Reporting Act 2013 as amended. As such, lenders are required to submit information on loans to the CCR.
This publication provides additional context to the Irish credit landscape alongside the Central Bank of Ireland Official SME and Large Enterprise Bank Credit and Deposits. Notable differences between these publications may be explained in the Coverage and Scope section.
Coverage and Scope
The CCR scope and coverage, from which this publication is sourced, is broader than the New Lending series. This publication looks exclusively at non-bank lenders, and in particular, at non-bank lenders that are originating new loans. Loans provided by the Government (including Government-sponsored agencies and Local Authorities) are not included in this series.
Information on the types of lenders and loans included in the CCR can be found here, while the full population list is available here. An extensive description of the composition of non-banks in the CCR can be found in this Behind the Data report.
There are some loan types which are absent from the CCR, including tradeable assets such as loan notes and debt securities, and other loan types including trade credit, intra-group credit and utilities debt. Other loans excluded from the CCR are loans owed between credit institutions. However, loans between other financial corporations such as investment funds are included.
The CCR captures data on loans to individuals and companies. However, for the purposes of this publication, only new non-bank loans to companies are considered.
The New Lending Frontier Statistics series relates exclusively to domestic credit. Any new non-bank loan included in the CCR and identified as being to non-Irish residents is excluded.
Central Bank of Ireland publishes SME and Large Enterprise Bank Credit and Deposits. There are key differences in the coverage of this data compared to the New Lending data published under Frontier Statistics. One such difference is that the SME and Large Enterprise Credit and Deposits data covers resident credit institutions (i.e. banks and credit unions), while this release only focuses on credit from Non-Banks. Additionally, official statistics look at gross new lending, while the New Lending data in Frontier Statistics considers new credit agreements. The New Lending series in Frontier Statistics also provides a different sectoral breakdown of borrowers and lenders.
Data Checks and Revisions
As part of the Frontier Statistics series, the New Lending publication will undergo continuous revisions each quarter, and the data and methodology are subject to change. CCR data are subject to change, and therefore analysis will be repeated each quarter to ensure timeliness and accuracy in the published series.
Definitions
Central Credit Register (CCR): A database of loans of €500 or more borrowed by a person living in the Irish State at the time of applying for the loan, or borrowed via a loan agreement/application which is governed by Irish law. The CCR was set up in 2013 by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Credit Reporting Act 2013 (as amended). Lenders submit information on existing loans and loan applications to the CCR. See more information here.
Credit: Credit includes loans, deferred payments and other financial accommodations, including (but not limited to) personal loans, mortgages and commercial loans. The CCR does not include utility loans and credit provided by one credit institution to another, amongst others.
Borrower: Borrowers include individuals, sole traders and companies. The CCR collects information on borrowers who have made a credit application, a credit agreement or are a guarantor. They are a person (i.e. an individual or a sole-trader) or a legal entity. Only companies are in scope of this publication.
Lender: The CCR collects data from Credit Information Providers (Lenders). This includes Banks, Non-Banks, Local Authorities, Government and Credit Unions. In the context of this publication, only Non-Bank Lenders are considered.
Credit agreement covered by Irish law: The CCR contains loans whose credit agreements are covered by Irish law. Examples of this are large corporates and individuals moving in and out of the state and across the border.
Bank: Bank refers to licenced credit institutions, as published on the Registers section of the Central Bank website, here. This means that lending by traditional retail banks, as well as lending by international banks with limited interaction with the general public, is considered within bank lending. It also includes, where identifiable, non-bank lending entities which are owned by banks, and are therefore considered to be part of a banking group. Bank loans are not in scope of this publication.
Non-bank: Lenders or holders of loans which are not banks, credit unions, or government-sponsored entities. Many non-bank lenders provide specific loans or cater for specific borrowers, such as property finance and asset finance and leasing. Others provide a combination of the aforementioned loan types. Non-banks that do not originate loans, but are holders, are not in scope of this publication.
Asset Finance Provider: Asset Finance firms provide credit in the form of products such as hire-purchase agreements, personal contract plans, leasing contract, or loans with assets as collateral. Asset finance allows businesses to access equipment without capital expenditure, or to release value from assets they already own. These entities can also be referred to as Leasing and Asset Finance Providers. For simplicity, we refer to them as Asset Finance Providers throughout this release.
Credit Union: A Credit Union is a financial co-operative formed for the promotion of thrift among its members by the accumulation of their savings; the creation of sources of credit for the mutual benefit of its members at a fair and reasonable rate of interest; and the use and control of members' savings for their mutual benefit. Credit Unions are out of scope for this publication.
Government: The Government sector refers to lending undertaken by any entity identified as being state controlled. This includes loans of local authorities, as well as other state bodies and agencies. It is out of scope for this publication.
Company Loans: This relates to loans given to companies as opposed to individuals or sole traders. It includes loans to financial borrowers, such as investment funds, as well as non-financial corporates.
Administrative Services: For a detailed definition, please refer to the current version of the NACE Rev 2 Statistical classification of economic activities, in this link.
Wholesale and Retail: For a detailed definition, please refer to the current version of the NACE Rev 2 Statistical classification of economic activities, in this link.
Large Enterprise: in the absence of a company size tag, a company is classified as large if that company, or its ultimate parent, meet any of the criteria below:
- It has more than 250 employees
- It has an annual turnover above €50mn
- It has a balance sheet above €43mn
- Has outstanding loans worth more than €30mn, or has been granted a single loan worth €30mn
SME (Small and Medium Enterprises): a company that does not meet any of the criteria below:
- It has more than 250 employees
- It has an annual turnover above €50mn
- It has a balance sheet above €43mn
- Has outstanding loans worth more than €30mn, or has been granted a single loan worth €30mn