One in four small businesses will be left unprotected from unfair loan rejections under the new SME credit review scheme promised by finance minister Brian Lenihan in the 2010 Budget, it has emerged.

The Credit Review Agency (CRA), which will allow business owners to appeal credit refusals to an independent panel of arbitrators, will only be available to customers of the five domestic lenders participating in Nama, according to a draft framework document for the scheme obtained by the Sunday Tribune. As constituted, the scheme will exclude Ulster Bank ? Ireland's third-largest business bank ? Irish Life & Permanent, Bank of Scotland (Ireland), National Irish Bank, ACC and KBC unless they volunteer to join the programme. Between them these institutions have a market share of about 25%, meaning a quarter of SME bank customers will have no independent recourse to dispute questionable credit decisions.

Former NIB executive John Trethowan, who Lenihan appointed to oversee the creation of the CRA, is moving quickly to establish the agency. He has already completed a consultation round with the banks and business representative groups and is presenting a draft outline of the scheme to the Financial Regulator and Department of Finance officials this week.

It is understood the CRA will have a small number of permanent staff, but will receive clerical support from Enterprise Ireland. Credit review cases will be forwarded to a panel of expert caseworkers drawn from the business and banking communities.

According to the framework document, credit appeals will be available to businesses of less than 250 employees with turnover of less than €50m and/or a balance sheet of less than €43m which have been refused credit facilities, including restructurings of up to €250,000, by a participating bank.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance said the CRA, which will focus on individual cases, would not overlap or duplicate the work of the Credit Supply Clearing Group, which was set up last year under the auspices of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to get a high-level view of the flow of credit to small businesses.