Banking group set to enter Irish invoice financing market

11/02/2008

The Close Brothers banking group has revealed its intention to move into the fast-growing Irish invoice financing market over the course of the coming year.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across Ireland are increasingly looking to secure a finance deal that allows them to take advantage of their respective debtor books and Close Brother's is convinced that it will be able to exploit the resulting demand for its services.

Highlighting the potential of the move into the invoice discounting market, the London-based banking group told the Irish Independent recently that for "most businesses their principle asset would be their debtor book".

Furthermore, the "considerable amount of belt-tightening" going on in the wake of the so-called credit crunch has made invoice discounting and debtor finance arrangements more attractive to all manner of SMBs, the Close Brothers suggested.

Last week, the Interface Financial Group claimed that demand for its invoice discounting services is increasing across the US, where more than one million businesses are launched on an annual basis.