OVER £2.8 BILLION PROVIDED TO SMES THROUGH COVID-19 LENDING SCHEME

Total lending under CBILS has doubled in the week from 14 April to 21 April, with an increase of £1.45 billion. Over 9,000 loans have been provided in the same period, with the total number approved increasing by almost 120 per cent to over 16,600.

Lenders have received over 36,000 completed applications so far. 16,624 of these applications have been approved to date, while others are still being processed and may be approved over the coming days.

Stephen Jones, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said:

?The banking and finance sector understands the critical role we have in helping businesses through these tough times.

?Frontline staff have been working tirelessly to get money to those viable businesses that need it as quickly as possible, with over £2.8 billion of lending provided to 16,000 firms so far. This lending forms part of a broad package of support provided to SMEs including additional loans, capital repayment holidays, extended overdrafts and asset-based finance.

?We know businesses want to look after their most important resource - their people - and so lenders are offering additional support to firms awaiting grants from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

?We stand ready to support many more businesses in the weeks ahead, and will continue to work closely with the government to ensure businesses can access the support they need.?

ECONOMY IN THE WEST MIDLANDS TO BE HARDEST HIT BY COVID-19

The economy in the West Midlands could be the hardest hit in the UK due to Covid-19, shrinking by 10.1 per cent, according to an assessment by KPMG (The Guardian, p27). The report reveals that London was better placed than other areas to maintain its economic activity, despite suffering the highest number of cases and deaths as a result of the pandemic.

Separately, a survey conducted by research consultancy Kantar shows that one in three households believe they will need financial support from the government by July (The Times, £, p35). This comes as the chief medical adviser to the UK government, Professor Chris Witty, said yesterday at the daily coronavirus briefing that social distancing in the UK will be needed until at least the end of the year to prevent fresh outbreaks of coronavirus (BBC News).

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in the eurozone has fallen to its lowest level since the financial crisis, from -11.6 in March to -22.7 in April (City A.M., online only).

NEWS IN BRIEF

According to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday, the UK's inflation rate fell from 1.7 per cent in February to 1.5 per cent in March, largely driven by falls in the price of clothing and fuel ahead of the coronavirus lockdown. The ONS said that panic buying hampered the collection of prices used to produce its monthly inflation data (The Times, £, p34).  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has amended its rules to temporarily accept ?fallen angel? bonds as collateral for loans to banks until September 2021 as part of efforts to avert a eurozone debt crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic (FT, £, online only).

Writing for The Telegraph (£, B4), Mel Stride, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, has advised the government to improve the situation faced by directors of limited companies and new starters who are failing to qualify for furloughing through the job retention scheme.

The European Council will hold a fourth video conference on the EU's response to the Covid-19 outbreak today, with European leaders expected to ask the Commission to propose a recovery fund to target the most affected sectors and regions (Reuters).

In a statement today to financial markets, the Treasury has said it will seek to raise £180 billion over the next three months to allow it to meet its spending needs as tax revenues decline (FT, £, online only).

COVID-19 - THE LATEST

LATEST BLOGS

Yvonne Deane and Rebecca Simons from our Capital Markets & Wholesale team blog on the current state of play with regard to the UK's departure from the European Union.