In a recent interview with reporter Brendan Garrett of deBanked Magazine, New York, entitled “Ireland’s Alternative Finance Industry and the Coronavirus” BusinessLoans.ie MD Rupert Hogan gave his insights on business finance in the current climate alongside Jamie Heaslip of Flender Finance, Chris Burge of Spark Crowdfunding and Garrett Cassidy of Trezeo.

Rupert Hogan “explained that some businesses would be better going with LEO over banks and even some non-banks. Noting that non-bank lenders can’t compete with the rates offered by LEO and, just like in the US, banks can’t act with the speed that these business owners need. And described the current situation as The Great Lockdown and banks aren’t too helpful, even in the good times, due to the high rejection rates that SMEs experience when looking for loans. In regards to merchant cash advances, he’s expecting, when the MCA companies reopen, that they’ll be funding at reduced rates, some doing as much as 50% less than their pre-coronavirus amounts.”

The article concludes, “altogether, Ireland’s alternative finance industry, like others the world over, has been hit hard by the coronavirus’s economic effects. With the country’s phased lifting of the lockdown being plotted out over the course of the summer, the island nation may not see as quick a return to commerce as certain American states, but its fintechs and non-banks hope to stick around, by hook or by crook, as the Irish say, by any means possible.” We at www.BusinessLoans.ie agree.

Rupert Hogan MD BusinessLoans.ie & Sean Murray Editor deBanked when they met in Dublin October 2019.

Recently Rupert Hogan, MD of BusinessLoans.ie met Sean Murray, Chief Editor of US Fintech magazine DeBanked. Murray was on a mission to explore the Fintech scene in Ireland.

There was great interaction between the pair right away. Murray said, “Hogan is full of energy and enthusiasm. He has a natural charisma and friendly manner that’s well-suited for a relationship-based business. It just so happens that SME finance in Ireland is still heavily reliant on person-to-person contact and Hogan is at the forefront of helping potential borrowers look beyond the bank for their financing needs.”

We learned that, while the Fintech scene in the US is a little more advanced than here in Ireland, many of the same alternative finance solutions are already here and at a comparable rate. He said, “Hogan’s company can connect SMEs with as little as €5,000 through an unsecured business loan or merchant cash advance. Invoice Financing, leasing, and trade finance are also tools at his disposal. It’s not all small, however, as he hands me a rate sheet for one lender that will go up to €25M. Interest rates on these products when compared with their American and UK brethren are quite reasonable, and suggest also that the target clientele is not subprime.”

Not only is Murray at the helm of deBanked magazine he also runs Fintech conferences, deBanked Connect. We hope he can come back to Ireland again soon to enliven the finance scene here.

Read the article. The Broker: Funding Businesses The Irish Way

Rupert Hogan MD BusinessLoans.ie and Sean Murray President / Chief Editor deBanked at Grand Canal Dock.