GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES £350 BILLION FOR BUSINESSES

The chancellor Rishi Sunak announced yesterday a £350 billion bailout to help businesses impacted by the coronavirus, with £330 billion in government-backed loans for firms of all sizes and £20 billion in funding for small firms (The Telegraph, £, p1). Mr Sunak also promised anyone struggling to pay their mortgage will be offered support, with the option of payment holidays of three months for those impacted by the virus (Daily Mail, p6, print only).

It comes as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued guidance yesterday for firms regarding their coronavirus response, featuring measures that asked lenders to support borrowers in financial difficulty (FT, £, p3). Banks will remain obliged under the FCA rules to ensure that any forbearance will still assume an eventual repayment of arrears (The Guardian, online only).

Commenting on the statement made by the chancellor regarding support for mortgage customers, Stephen Jones, UK Finance CEO, said:

?Mortgage lenders will support customers who are experiencing issues with their finances as a result of COVID-19 and the options include a payment holiday of up to three months.

?Monthly mortgage payments tend to be the largest outgoing for the vast majority of households and lenders are keen to reassure homeowners that the industry is working hard to put measures in place to support them during these uncertain times.

?Customers who are concerned about their current financial situation should get in touch with their lender at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss if this is a suitable option for them.?

For further information on what a payment holiday is and how it works please visit here.

CROSS-SECTOR COOPERATION NEEDED TO TACKLE RISE IN AUTHORISED PUSH PAYMENT FRAUD

The latest UK Finance figures, published today, reveal that the banking and finance industry prevented over £1.8 billion of fraud in 2019, up nine per cent on the previous year. £824.8 million was stolen by criminals through unauthorised card, remote banking and cheque fraud during the same period, a fall of two per cent compared to the previous year. In addition, £456 million was lost to authorised push payment (APP) scams in 2019, where customers are tricked into authorising a payment to an account controlled by a criminal, up from £354 million the previous year.

Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said:

?The banking and finance industry is taking action on all fronts to protect its customers from fraud and crack down on the criminal gangs responsible. The introduction of the voluntary Code last May has meant more victims of authorised push payment fraud are receiving compensation, particularly in cases involving higher value losses and more sophisticated scams.

?However, criminal gangs are continuing to exploit online platforms to target customers directly and trick them into handing over their money or information. This shows why fraud and other economic crime should be included within the new regulatory framework for online harms, to ensure all sectors play their part in tackling the threat posed by fraud to our society. Only by working in partnership with the public sector and other industries can we protect innocent victims and prevent money getting into the hands of criminals.

?We would also urge the public to be vigilant against criminals using the publicity around the coronavirus as a chance to target their victims with fraudulent emails, phone calls, text messages or social media posts. Always follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign and take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information in case it's a scam.?

UK Finance has also published separate figures for the first time on compensation for customers under the voluntary Code on APP fraud introduced on 28 May 2019.

NEWS IN BRIEF

In light of the coronavirus outbreak, the second round of trade talks between the UK and the EU have been cancelled (City A.M.).

Most businesses will not have insurance cover to compensate them for coronavirus losses, says the Association of British Insurers (ABI) (BBC News).

European exchanges vow to stay open for business, according to the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) (Reuters).

European markets fall despite stimulus packages (The Guardian, online only).

WHAT THE COMMENTATORS SAY

Writing in The Times (£, p39), economics editor David Smith comments on the impact of the coronavirus on the economy and says the 'speed with which this crisis has developed puts other crises in perspective?. Mr Smith looks at analysis from David Owen and Marchel Alexandrovich of Jefferies International, believing that the biggest impact on the economy will only be felt in the coming quarter and will be short-lived. Mr Smith concludes by highlighting the silver linings, saying that as activities like shopping, travel, entertainment come back, GDP will boost in time, as well as employment rates.

LATEST BLOGS

Pavi Kathiravel writes about Take Five Week, a campaign encouraging businesses and customers alike to help fight fraud and scams.

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Chris Fitch, Vulnerability Lead at the Money Advice Trust, previews the next Vulnerability Academy: Improving Customer Outcomes which starts in April.