The seven banks and non-bank lenders that provide 'invoice finance' in Ireland expect demand to grow as firms reopen after virus lockdowns - and face a long list of unpaid invoices in their sales ledgers.
The Irish Asset and Invoice Finance Association (IAIFA) published its 2019 results today. These show that 1,600 small and medium-sized enterprises used €28.6bn in invoice and other asset-based financing last year.
At any given moment, those firms have nearly €1.5bn drawn down from their invoice-secured credit lines, with the potential for up to €2.7bn in such borrowing approved.
Unlike normal loan arrangements, such invoice-based finance typically amounts to a revolving credit facility in which the lender advances funds to the firm based on the size of their debtor books and collects that income, plus interest, as invoices are paid into a lender-controlled account.