On the brink: SMEs cut off from bounce back loans as banks close to new customers October 6, 2020 Small businesses are being shut out of potentially life-saving bounce back loans (BBLs) because lenders are turning down new customers, despite the funds being fully guaranteed by the government. City A.M. has spoken to a number of businesses who have had applications to set up new business accounts with lenders rejected, often without explanation. Many [...]
UK businesses borrowed more in one quarter than in whole of 2019 October 6, 2020 British businesses borrowed 50 per cent more in the second quarter of 2020 than in the whole of the previous year as the coronavirus crisis hammered the economy, new figures show. Businesses borrowed a total of £34.5bn in the three months to the end of June, according to a report by banking lobby group UK [...]
FCA amps up crackdown on coronavirus-related fraud October 6, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ramped up efforts to crack down on coronavirus-related fraud during the pandemic through the rollout of two new sandbox services. Sandboxes allow companies to innovate new products without being subject to usual regulation, allowing them to test financial services before developing them globally. The FCA’s two new sandboxes, launched [...]
Business schools: Your country needs you… to save our SMEs October 6, 2020 With tighter restrictions coming into place across the country, local businesses would be forgiven for feeling fear and uncertainty about what is coming next as we go into a second wave of Covid-19. No business is immune — but those in the SME category are particularly at risk. Small business owners have been significantly impacted [...]
In full: Rishi Sunak’s virtual Conservative conference speech October 5, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today addressed Conservative virtual conference, pledging to support entrepreneurs but warning of difficult times ahead. Here’s the full speech: “Politics is a team sport” “Being appointed Chancellor in February this year was an immense honour. Even though my first conference speech as Chancellor isn’t quite how I expected it to be, it [...]
Bounce Back Loans helped SMEs, but we must plan for what comes next October 4, 2020 The launch of the Bounce Back Loan scheme was a watershed moment for hundreds of thousands of SMEs across the country. It gave them what they craved — small loans straight into their bank account, with maximum speed and minimum fuss. For many SMEs, this was the first time they had managed to get financial [...]
State-owned bank raised concerns over bounce back loans’ fraud risk September 30, 2020 The state-owned British Business Bank issued formal objections to the government’s coronavirus Bounce Back Loan and Future Fund schemes ahead of their launch, newly-released documents show. In letters sent to business secretary Alok Sharma in May, BBB chief executive Keith Morgan raised concerns including the BBL scheme’s “very significant fraud and credit risks” and whether [...]
London businesses among most confident in the UK, survey shows September 30, 2020 London businesses were among the most confident of any UK region in September, a new survey showed, with sentiment across the country reaching its highest level since lockdown began in March. Business confidence in the capital rose nine points during September to minus four per cent, according to Lloyds Business Barometer. While overall UK confidence [...]
Exclusive: MPs slam ‘inconsistency and incompetence’ as SMEs struggle to get bounce back loans September 28, 2020 Banks have been told to ensure that no small businesses are “locked out” of government-backed coronavirus loans, after firms were left unable to access the loans despite being eligible for funding. MPs said lenders accredited under the scheme should re-open applications for bounce back loans (BBLs), designed to help small companies weather the pandemic. Barclays [...]
Government to subsidise wages of part-time workers in new scheme September 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak today announced a new “jobs support scheme” , which will see the government support the wages of people working part-time from November in a bid to stave off mass unemployment. The scheme, described by Sunak as a “radical intervention into the UK labour market”, will allow full-time workers to go back to work [...]