UK watchdog slams government failures to tackle Covid loan fraud December 3, 2021 The National Audit Office has chastised the government for failing to crack down on an estimated £5bn of loan fraud during the pandemic. The government’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy handed out far more in Covid Bounce Back Loans than it was expecting during the pandemic with a total of £47bn dished out [...]
British Business Bank’s oversight of Greensill was ‘woefully inadequate’ with £335m of taxpayers’ money at risk November 20, 2021 A new report has warned that up to £335m of taxpayers’ money is at risk due to failures by the British Business Bank to properly scrutinise bust lender Greensill Capital. The Public Accounts Committee of MPs found that the bank, which oversaw the billions lent to businesses during the pandemic in loans backed by the [...]
‘It’s a pivotal time’ November 16, 2021 Interview with Simon Kenyon, Group Ambassador for London, Lloyds Banking Group Taking the pulse of London’s financial health is not easy: for every business that’s thriving, or at least showing ‘bouncebackability’ from the pandemic, there are others struggling to keep the wolf from the door. But the economic pulse is beating a little faster inside the [...]
Starling Bank CEO: Barclays ‘firmly in our sights’ as we’ll be bigger within five years November 15, 2021 Barclays is firmly on the radar of Starling Bank’s senior management, as the company said it is working to overtake the Canary Wharf-based banking giant in the business banking market within the next five years. The bold predictions come as the digital lending disruptor is getting ready for a stock market float. Starling’s founder and [...]
Publicans loaned £138m to own businesses in battle for survival November 1, 2021 Pub owners injected £138m in loans to their own businesses to keep them afloat during the pandemic. Private equity investment firm Growthdeck found that some 1,730 UK pubs and bar companies ran so short of cash last year that their directors had to make loans to them from their own personal resources. As hospitality venues [...]
Fraud convictions on the up as post-Covid-19 crackdown begins November 1, 2021 An increase in post-Covid-19 fraud checks by the Insolvency Service has seen the number of company directors convicted of fraud spike, according to new research. The number of directors convicted of criminal activity has increased to 122 in the year to the end of September, a 205 per cent hike on 2020 levels. Mazars, the [...]
NatWest chief warns supply chain crisis curtails growth among army of small firms October 18, 2021 NatWest’s business banking boss has said the supply chain crisis is holding back growth among Britain’s army of small firms and warned over mounting problems if shortages persist. Andrew Harrison said poor availability of key goods and materials was “curtailing” growth in the sector, which comes at a vital time for small firms as they [...]
CEO: ‘Incredible year’ for £88bn Covid loan bank as it helped 1.6m businesses to bounce back September 22, 2021 The taxpayer-owned bank that helped funnel billions of pounds worth of loans to British companies said it went through a “gigantic shift” during the pandemic year, the chief of the British Business Bank said this morning. Catherine Lewis La Torre said this morning that the BBB, which she leads, had an “important role” in the [...]
The furlough scheme protected our economy but now it has to come to an end September 10, 2021 Around nine million jobs were furloughed at the height of the first lockdown in spring 2020 – almost a third of the entire workforce. While the furlough scheme has not been able to protect every job, unemployment during the pandemic could well have numbered in the millions without it – as happened in countries, like [...]
Covid emergency loan schemes push UK challenger bank lending to record high August 30, 2021 Lending by British challenger banks surged to a record high last year driven by businesses rushing to capitalise on emergency Covid loan schemes, according to new figures published today. Research by accountancy firm BDO shows challenger bank lending climbed 11 per cent over the last year to £143bn, a record high, up from £128bn in [...]