£2.8bn now provided to SMEs through coronavirus lending scheme

The banking and finance sector has now provided over £2.8 billion of lending to SMEs through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Related topics:  Commercial,  Commercial finance
Rozi Jones
23rd April 2020
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"Frontline staff have been working tirelessly to get money to those viable businesses that need it as quickly as possible, with over £2.8 billion of lending provided to 16,000 firms so far."

Total lending under CBILS has doubled in the week from 14 April to 21 April, with an increase of £1.45 billion. Over 9,000 loans have been provided in the same period, with the total number approved increasing by almost 120% to over 16,600.

Lenders have received over 36,000 completed applications so far, of which 16,624 have been approved to date.

The industry has also taken steps to give additional support to those businesses who are furloughing their employees. Where possible, lenders will look to provide support to firms that have successfully applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help them manage their cashflow while they await receipt of a grant from the scheme.

Stephen Jones, chief executive of UK Finance, said: “The banking and finance sector understands the critical role we have in helping businesses through these tough times.

“Frontline staff have been working tirelessly to get money to those viable businesses that need it as quickly as possible, with over £2.8 billion of lending provided to 16,000 firms so far. This lending forms part of a broad package of support provided to SMEs including additional loans, capital repayment holidays, extended overdrafts and asset-based finance.

“We know businesses want to look after their most important resource – their people – and so lenders are offering additional support to firms awaiting grants from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

“We stand ready to support many more businesses in the weeks ahead, and will continue to work closely with the government to ensure businesses can access the support they need.”

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