Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Despite the Bounce Back Loan scheme being extended until the end of January, no high-street banks say they are open to new BBL applications.
As of today (November 3), Starling Bank remains the only accredited lender of 28 that is open to bounce back loan applications from those who bank elsewhere. However, a spokesman told SmallBusiness.co.uk:
“There is currently a waitlist and we are prioritising established business and sole traders who use Starling as their primary account. Eligible customers will be sent an email inviting them to apply, but we can’t guarantee that everyone on the waitlist will receive a loan.”
>See also: Most banks not allowing small businesses to open bank accounts
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking research has suggested that up to 250,000 small businesses ‘are effectively locked out of the market’, given they do not bank with accredited lenders.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative MP and co-chair of the APPGFG, told SmallBusiness.co.uk:
“We welcome the extension to Bounce Back Loans (BBLS) and the ability to top up, but it is critical that banks are open for new business including from new customers.
“Over the last few weeks the handful of lenders who were open to new
Tag Archive for Small-business Banking
Hot Business News Today
Most banks not allowing small businesses to open bank accounts
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Many banks have stopped accepting new applications for business bank accounts since the coronavirus pandemic surged in the UK.
This is predominantly down to increased demand for government-backed emergency loans like Bounce Back Loans and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans. Banks are focusing on providing these and tending to their existing customers’ most pressing needs.
Which banks are still offering business bank accounts?
SmallBusiness.co.uk has spoken to the following banks to find out where they stand on accepting business bank account applications.
HSBC
HSBC closed applications for new business bank accounts on September 30.
An HSBC UK spokesperson said: “Since the introduction of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, we have given over £12bn of lending to the UK’s businesses, as part of an overall £20bn package supporting our business and personal customers. 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 scheme closing on 30 November, we need to focus our resources on fulfilling existing applications. We are no longer accepting new applications for Bounce Back Loans from companies that don’t have an existing HSBC business account and we will
Hot Business News Today
Banks may call in debt collectors to recoup unpaid Bounce Back Loans
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Banks may outsource repayment of Bounce Back Loans gone bad to external debt collectors because the task will prove too overwhelming inhouse.
The government itself estimates that nearly two thirds of Bounce Back Loans may never be repaid, costing the Treasury £26bn.
Government and the banks are talking about establishing a panel of debt collection agencies that would all follow an agreed code of practice.
>See also: HSBC will not accept any more Bounce Back Loan applications
According to the Times, government officials have already contacted debt collection agencies including Arrow Global to see whether they would chase unpaid Bounce Back Loans. Only when the agency has exhausted chasing repayment would the bank then claim on the 100-per-cent state guarantee.
Lenders say they would have to hire hundreds of staff and build dedicated loan recovery call centres to cope with the volume of bad debts.
Bounce Back Loans are due to start being repaid in May.
Of course, high street lenders have outsourced bad debt collection for years. The collection agency chases the bad loan on a contingency basis, keeping a percentage of any loan repaid as a fee. A large percentage of businesses owing banks money settle immediately once
Hot Business News Today
Banks may call in debt collectors to recoup unpaid Bounce Back Loans
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Banks may outsource repayment of Bounce Back Loans gone bad to external debt collectors because the task will prove too overwhelming inhouse.
The government itself estimates that nearly two thirds of Bounce Back Loans may never be repaid, costing the Treasury £26bn.
Government and the banks are talking about establishing a panel of debt collection agencies that would all follow an agreed code of practice.
>See also: HSBC will not accept any more Bounce Back Loan applications
According to the Times, government officials have already contacted debt collection agencies including Arrow Global to see whether they would chase unpaid Bounce Back Loans. Only when the agency has exhausted chasing repayment would the bank then claim on the 100-per-cent state guarantee.
Lenders say they would have to hire hundreds of staff and build dedicated loan recovery call centres to cope with the volume of bad debts.
Bounce Back Loans are due to start being repaid in May.
Of course, high street lenders have outsourced bad debt collection for years. The collection agency chases the bad loan on a contingency basis, keeping a percentage of any loan repaid as a fee. A large percentage of businesses owing banks money settle immediately once
Hot Business News Today
HSBC will not accept any more Bounce Back Loan applications
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
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
Hot Business News Today
Rishi Sunak to extend government coronavirus business support
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend all four of the UK’s emergency coronavirus business support schemes until the end of November.
Until now, the Treasury has resisted calls from business groups to extend the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), in particular. The CBILS is due to expire at the end of October with the Bounce Back Loans scheme following shortly thereafter in November.
However, given this week’s expected further semi national lockdown, according to the Financial Times, the chancellor has bowed to the inevitable in extending all coronavirus business support schemes, which have already backed £53bn in lending to business through government guarantees.
Second national lockdown
The news comes as a thinktank warns that a second national lockdown would cost the economy £250m a day as people are kept out of pubs and restaurants and encouraged to work from home.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) warned that GDP could fall by between 3 per cent and 5 per cent in the last three months of this year compared with the third quarter.
Although the £250m figure is a tenth of the impact of the full-blown lockdown at its peak in April, CEBR deputy chairman
Hot Business News Today
Rishi Sunak to extend government coronavirus business support
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend all four of the UK’s emergency coronavirus business support schemes until the end of November.
Until now, the Treasury has resisted calls from business groups to extend the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), in particular. The CBILS is due to expire at the end of October with the Bounce Back Loans scheme following shortly thereafter in November.
However, given this week’s expected further semi national lockdown, according to the Financial Times, the chancellor has bowed to the inevitable in extending all coronavirus business support schemes, which have already backed £53bn in lending to business through government guarantees.
Second national lockdown
The news comes as a thinktank warns that a second national lockdown would cost the economy £250m a day as people are kept out of pubs and restaurants and encouraged to work from home.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) warned that GDP could fall by between 3 per cent and 5 per cent in the last three months of this year compared with the third quarter.
Although the £250m figure is a tenth of the impact of the full-blown lockdown at its peak in April, CEBR deputy chairman
Hot Business News Today
Lloyds rapped for forcing Bounce Back Loans borrowers to open accounts
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Lloyds has been named and shamed with for forcing small businesses to open paid-for business current accounts to access Bounce Back Loans.
The competition watchdog said that Lloyds, one of the largest in the small business market, treated small companies unfairly by requiring them to open an account to draw down state-backed Bounce Back Loans.
The Competition and Markets Authority that 30,000 customers who had been running their businesses using personal accounts were told by Lloyds and its Bank of Scotland arm that they must open a business account to access Bounce Back Loans.
>See also: Banks ‘will be pushed’ into closing down SMEs unable to repay Covid debt
The scheme, which has underwritten £35.5bn of credit, provides lenders with a 100-per-cent state guarantee on low-interest loans to qualifying small companies. High street banks, rather than the government, have to provide the working capital.
Back in 2002, Lloyds agreed not to ask personal account customers to open a separate account if they wanted to borrow money from the bank – a practice known as “bundling”.
But when it came to Bounce Back Loans, Lloyds asked existing customers operating their firms out of personal accounts to open fee-charging business accounts
Hot Business News Today
Lloyds rapped for forcing Bounce Back Loans borrowers to open accounts
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Lloyds has been named and shamed with for forcing small businesses to open paid-for business current accounts to access Bounce Back Loans.
The competition watchdog said that Lloyds, one of the largest in the small business market, treated small companies unfairly by requiring them to open an account to draw down state-backed Bounce Back Loans.
The Competition and Markets Authority that 30,000 customers who had been running their businesses using personal accounts were told by Lloyds and its Bank of Scotland arm that they must open a business account to access Bounce Back Loans.
>See also: Banks ‘will be pushed’ into closing down SMEs unable to repay Covid debt
The scheme, which has underwritten £35.5bn of credit, provides lenders with a 100-per-cent state guarantee on low-interest loans to qualifying small companies. High street banks, rather than the government, have to provide the working capital.
Back in 2002, Lloyds agreed not to ask personal account customers to open a separate account if they wanted to borrow money from the bank – a practice known as “bundling”.
But when it came to Bounce Back Loans, Lloyds asked existing customers operating their firms out of personal accounts to open fee-charging business accounts
Hot Business News Today
Banks ‘will be pushed’ into closing down SMEs unable to repay Covid debt
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Banks will be pushed into foreclosing on small businesses unable to repay Covid debt, a City insider has warned.
This is because foreclosing on SMEs unable to repay emergency coronavirus loans will be the only way banks can trigger the government’s guarantee to repay bad Covid debt. Banks would have to prove a loss before they can claim on the guarantee.
The government’s lending schemes have provided nearly £53bn to some 1.2m companies, including £35.5bn worth of bounce back loans — which include a 100 per cent guarantee for small business loans – and £13.7bn through the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS).
The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned that in a worst-case scenario, £35bn of the Covid debt will never be repaid. The banks themselves believe that up to half of bounce back loans alone will never be repaid.
A Business Banking Resolution Service survey in May discovered that nearly half of small businesses that have taken out government emergency coronavirus loans do not intend to repay them.
The Treasury has turned a deaf ear to a City of London push for it to set up a bad COVID-19 debt bank, an idea proposed by Lord