"Our accredited lenders continue to see high levels of demand for Covid-19 business loan schemes."
New CBILS lenders 365 Business Finance, FOLK2FOLK, Handelsbanken, LendingCrowd, Maxxia, and Nucleus Commercial Finance will be able to provide financial support to smaller businesses across the UK that are losing revenue and seeing their cashflow disrupted, as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
New CLBILS lenders Close Brothers, ThinCats and HSBC Bank plc, a separate entity from the previously-accredited HSBC UK, will be able to provide finance to midsized and larger UK businesses with a group turnover of more than £45m.
Coutts and Arbuthnot Latham will join the other 21 BBLS lenders who have been accredited since the scheme opened.
Research released yesterday from UK Finance show that over one million businesses have now been supported through the three government-backed coronavirus lending schemes, borrowing a total of £42.9 billion.
This includes 967,321 Bounce Back Loans worth £29.5 billion, 52,275 loans worth over £11 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and £2.3 billion through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
The data shows that the number of facilities approved is 14 times higher than the average quarterly total of loans and overdrafts provided to SMEs in previous years.
Keith Morgan, CEO of the British Business Bank, said: “Our accredited lenders continue to see high levels of demand for Covid-19 business loan schemes. Accrediting these additional finance providers means further support for smaller business customers and continues the British Business Bank’s long-term objective to offer more diverse sources of finance to smaller businesses."
Chirag Shah, CEO of Nucleus Commercial Finance, commented: “It’s essential right now that businesses get the finance they need when they need it most, which is why I’m proud that Nucleus Commercial Finance is supporting SMEs through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Over the last 18 months we have invested significantly in technology, including automated underwriting - our industry-leading system will allow us to process CBILS applications and deliver funds to businesses within hours at a time when traditional banks and other alternative lenders are struggling to keep up.”
