September 5th, 2020.


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.


For the full story at smallbusiness.co.uk CLICK HERE.