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Permanent TSB has stepped up its lending to small and medium-sized businesses with a new €1 billion loan fund.
The bank, which is looking to more than triple the size of its existing SME lending business, said the fund will be deployed over the next three years.
The fund comes a month after it reached a deal with NatWest to acquire a €6.8 billion portfolio of mortgages and business loans from Ulster Bank.
The lender has also said it intends to offer €32 million in low-costs loans after joining the State's Brexit Impact Loan Scheme, which is operated by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).
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The bank will offer loans from €25,000 to €1.5 million to Brexit-impacted businesses, over terms of up to six years at rates starting from 3 per cent.
PTSB is already a participant in the Future Growth Loan Scheme, which is also operated by the SBCI.
"Today's announcement shows the extent of our ambition to grow our SME business significantly and to bring greater competition to the market at a time when it is needed more than ever," said chief executive Eamonn Crowley.
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