Insurance broker chief calls for quick bank normalisation

Bank lending must be normalised urgently to prevent viable businesses being forced out of existence, according to a Meath resident who has just been appointed chairman of the Professional Insurance Brokers of Ireland (PIBA), the country"s largest group of independent brokers, at its AGM held last Thursday. Mr Hoare, managing director of Helvetia Wealth Managers Ltd, a Zurich-based wealth management company, and a former Republic of Ireland soccer international, said that the Government needs to step in to 'avoid a very bad situation needlessly deteriorating further'. He said: 'Banks have gone from one extreme to the other with lending practices. They are now only lending to what they see as low risk entities, and while the €350m European Investment Bank funding is available, it is targeted primarily at new enterprises. Solid SMEs which have normal developmental or cashflow requirements are being completely squeezed.' He said the Government must step in and properly recapitalise the banks by whatever means, but they must do it urgently. Mr Hoare, who played League of Ireland for Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda United and Home Farm, specialises in developing wealth and wealth protection programmes for company directors and self-employed people. He was group sales manager at Friends First from 1996 to 1999 after which he became commercial director at Cambridge Technology Partners, a global e-business strategic consultancy. He is a director/investor in a number of projects, including a wine resort in Bordeaux, France. Michael Hoare replaces outgoing chairman, Jack FitzPatrick, who served in the role for the last two years