BANK OF Ireland says it is approving four out of five loan applications from small businesses.

The Minister for Enterprise, Batt O’Keeffe, recently summoned the banks to a meeting to question them on their business lending policies, and a number of lobby groups have criticised them for failing credit to viable operations.

At the weekend, Bank of Ireland’s head of small business and agriculture, Michael Lauhoff, said that the institution remains committed to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for most of the country’s private-sector employment.

“Our approval rate has been consistently around 80 per cent over the past three years, albeit against the backdrop of a reduced number of applications,” he said.

“In the first four months of 2010 we approved approximately €1 billion of facilities for our SME customers and continue to provide overdraft facilities to the value of €2.2 billion.”

He said just around half of the overdraft facilities are used.

The Irish Small and Medium-sized Enterprise organisation (ISME) recently said that Government intervention is needed to ensure that banks keep credit flowing to business.

Mr Lauhoff was speaking at the opening of Bank of Ireland’s National Enterprise Week.

Speakers at small business seminars organised by the bank around the country will be Facebook’s head of European sales, Rick Kelley, Intel Ireland’s general manager, Jim O’Hara, and all-Ireland-winning Tyrone football manager, Mickey Harte.