More than 972,000 businesses have now been provided with lending worth a total of £40.7bn through the three major government-backed lending schemes, according to new figures released by the Treasury.

Three months to the day after the launch of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), lenders have approved more than 50,000 facilities through the scheme, totalling £10.5bn for businesses needing financial support.

The CBILS launched on March 23 2020 and was the first of the three coronavirus loan schemes to be introduced by the Government in partnership with the banking industry. Since then, the number of approved providers offering the scheme has doubled from 40 to almost 90, including traditional high street banks, finTechs, asset-based finance and invoice finance providers.

The Treasury’s latest totals also revealed that the Bounce Back Loan scheme (BBLS) has continued to offer support to tens of thousands of small and micro businesses every day – with 920,000 business owners having accessed £28bn worth of loans.

For 315 larger businesses, £2.1bn has also now been approved via the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).

Responding to the figures, UK Finance managing director of commercial finance, Stephen Pegge, said: “Since the beginning of the crisis the banking and finance industry’s core focus has been implementing a plan to help businesses through this difficult time.

“It’s important to remember that any lending provided under government-backed schemes is a debt not a grant, and so firms should carefully consider their ability to repay before applying.”

Share Story: