City minister John Glen praises frontline financial services staff for coronavirus efforts
City minister John Glen has thanked frontline financial services staff for their “vital” role during the coronavirus crisis.
In a letter published today, Glen said the services provided by bank branch and contact centre workers will be a “lifeline” to many during the pandemic.
He praised the “herculean efforts” to help customers in financial difficulty or who are self-isolating due to Covid-19.
The letter comes after banks were criticised for being slow to approve requests for cash under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey last week warned lenders that they should “put their backs” into approving applications during the coronavirus crisis.
“Notwithstanding the stress that we’re all operating under in terms of the current working environment, they have got to put their backs into it and get on with it, frankly,” Bailey said on Friday.
“It does have to be tackled because otherwise we are going to destroy people’s livelihoods or get scarring of the economy.”
Around 12,000 businesses have received the coronavirus loans so far, chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Monday evening.
“There is still a lot for us to do in the face of these challenges, and I welcome your ongoing support as we work to ensure we minimise the impact on consumers, businesses and the wider UK economy,” Glen wrote.
“As the Chancellor said, the priority for all of us – financial services and Government – should be to ensure that the benefits of the extraordinary package of support we have provided are passed through to businesses and consumers.
“I commend you all for making a hugely valuable and critical contribution to the resilience of our nation at this most challenging time.”