Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
HSBC has closed its doors on new Bounce Back Loan applications, saying it needs to process loan decisions already in hand.
Small businesses should have until the end of November to apply for a Bounce Back Loan.
To date, 1.3m companies have borrowed £38bn through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
>See also: Half of small businesses will never repay Bounce Back Loans, warn banks
HSBC halting Bounce Back Loan applications due to huge demand will anger small business customers hoping to sneak under the wire and take out the one-year interest-free loan before November 30.
The bank has approved 194,000 Bounce Back Loans so far worth £5.9bn and said it is approving a new loan every 20 seconds.
It will continue to process applications from existing HSBC customers as well as those made by non-customers before 9am on Wednesday, September 30.
HSBC will be closed to businesses opening new accounts until December 14.
>See also: Lloyds rapped for forcing Bounce Back Loans borrowers to open accounts
An HSBC UK spokesman told the Telegraph: “As one of the only banks that remained open to applications from all UK businesses since the scheme’s launch, we received a huge level of demand. With the
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HSBC handling of bounce-back loans branded ‘shambles’ by businesses
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small businesses say HSBC is pushing them to the brink of collapse because of the time it is taking to approve bounce-back loans.
Another small business owner says her mental health has been affected by the “sham” of her experience of applying for an HSBC bounce-back loan.
HSBC’s own bounce-back loan guidelines say it aims to respond to applications within a couple of days.
Yet HSBC business customers say they have been left hanging for weeks for approved applications to be processed and money to appear in their accounts.
>See also: Half of small businesses will never repay Bounce Back Loans, warn banks
Some HSBC customers say the bank’s unresponsiveness is pushing them into going out of business.
“They have left me to go under,” said Darren Smith of Chorley-based DMS Minibus Hire, who applied for a bounce-back loan on May 16, having been an HSBC customer for over 30 years, and is still waiting for his money, despite HSBC assuring him the money would hit his account within two days.
“So many businesses are going bust due to this farce,” said childminder Louise Blazys, who is also waiting for any communication for HSBC, despite applying three weeks ago.
Alan Larking,
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HSBC adds billions to its £14bn small business loan fund ahead of Brexit
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
HSBC has added another £2bn to the £14bn pot of its small business loan fund, which it launched this time last year.
The bank says the increased fund is part of its British small and medium-sized businesses navigate Brexit and help them grow.
According to HSBC’s own research, 28pc of businesses have done nothing to prepare for Brexit.
Since launching its initial SME Fund in 2014, HSBC has committed more than £60bn to UK SMEs.
This year’s fund, which is HSBC’s largest to date, includes increased ring-fenced pots for international businesses and for the agriculture sector because they were both fully utilised last year.
See also: Best small business loans in the UK
The amount of money ring-fenced for companies that want to grow overseas has been doubled to £2bn, while the agriculture pot has increased to £1 billion from £300 million last year.
Almost one fifth (19pc) of businesses surveyed by HSBC have looked at opportunities to trade outside of the EU after Brexit.
Regional allocations across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland ensure that companies throughout the country can benefit the fund.
HSBC was unavailable to say how much of last year’s £12bn small business loan fund allocation has been
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Interview with David Beaty, UK head of business banking at HSBC
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
David Beaty of HSBC is the UK head of business banking in the commercial banking division and has worked for the bank for 35 years. In this interview, he shares with us how the bank’s services are structured for SMEs, his views on the results of a report on attitudes towards Brexit and how customers
The post Interview with David Beaty, UK head of business banking at HSBC appeared first on Small Business.