New research examines factors behind cross-border differences in SME borrowing costs

The Central Bank has published a new Research Technical Paper by James Carroll and Fergal McCann titled ‘Observables and residuals: estimating cross-border differences in Small and Medium Enterprise borrowing costs’.

• Paper estimates cross-country borrowing cost differential which can be attributed to market-wide conditions facing firms.
• Interest rates are lower for larger firms, larger loans and longer terms.
• Interest rates in the UK are 110 basis points lower than in Ireland (average across all models).

Notes

The views presented in Research Technical Papers are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Central Bank of Ireland.

Research Technical Papers are published on the Central Bank’s website.