Chief Executive of UK Finance, Stephen Jones, said:

?SMEs are the foundations of any successful economy and the banking and finance industry has the commitment and capacity to support viable businesses as they manage the impact of Covid-19. Alongside over £20 billion of funding, banks and finance providers are delivering targeted assistance to firms including repayment holidays, invoice finance extensions and fee-free emergency loans. This is in addition to the government's welcome announcement of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which the industry will work with the government to deliver as quickly as possible.

?We urge all businesses to think about how their customers and suppliers could be affected by this global outbreak and to contact their finance providers as early as possible if they think they might have any additional financing requirements.?