Lenders have provided £35bn via Covid loan schemes

Banks and business lenders have distributed £34.9bn to date through the three main government-backed lending programmes, new figures have revealed.

HM Treasury confirmed that £3.6bn was provided to 85,000 businesses over the past week alone, with more applications set to be approved over the coming days.

Since the Bounce Back Loan scheme was launched five weeks ago, more than 780,000 businesses have successfully applied for £23.8bn in loans, including £2.5bn in the last week.

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Meanwhile, 48,000 businesses have been granted loans via the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) so far, with lenders approving £9.6bn in total.

And £1.6bn has been provided to 244 larger businesses via the coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme (CLBILS).

“The banking and finance sector has a clear plan to help businesses of all sizes get through these challenging times,” said Mike Conroy, director of commercial finance at UK Finance.

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“The industry acknowledges the role it must play and is providing an unprecedented level of support, with £35bn approved to 830,000 businesses through government-backed lending schemes in less than three months.

“This sits alongside the broad package of measures the industry has introduced to help businesses access the support they need, including overdraft extensions and capital repayment holidays.

“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.”

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