Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
UK banks are preparing for up to 40 per cent (circa £11 billion) of loans from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) to potentially be written off as irrecoverable according to RSM Restructuring Advisory. RSM says that banks are already preparing and building their teams to pursue businesses that default on the BBLS, a scheme…
Read more
The number of loans and overdrafts approved to SMEs rose by 41.9 per cent in Q1 2020 compared with the previous quarter, according to UK Finance’s latest Business Finance Review figures. While there was growth across all sectors, the increase was especially marked in accommodation & food service (up 74 per cent) and recreation and…
Read more
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell by 60% in May 2020 compared with the same month in 2019. In the five months to May 2020, new business fell by 30% compared with the same period in 2019. New…
Read more
Overall business confidence improved by three percentage points in June, the first increase recorded since January, according to the Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking Business Barometer. Despite still sitting in negative sentiment, the increase is the highest level seen since the start of the pandemic in March, however, confidence remains well below levels seen before the…
Read more
The banking and finance industry has supported more than one million businesses through the three government-backed lending schemes in just over three months, figures published by HM Treasury today have revealed. Almost 1.02 million facilities worth £42.9 billion have been approved through the Coronavirus Businesses Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS), Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and…
Read more
The British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker report shows investment in UK tech businesses rose by 27% last year to hit £4 billion – the highest level for eight years. The study found that 52% of deals took place outside of London, with the south west of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland showing…
Read more
UK businesses are returning to work this month with some trepidation, according to fintech business lender MarketFinance. The company’s latest research indicates that nine in ten businesses are waiting to be paid an average of £148,917 for work done pre-lockdown. With reportedly half of the companies that applied for CBILS loans being declined and cash…
Read more
Business lending figures have now risen to £40.7 billion to over 972,000 businesses through the three major government-backed lending schemes according to new figures from HM Treasury. Three months to the day after the launch of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), lenders have approved over 50,000 facilities through the scheme for businesses needing…
Read more
More SMEs are changing their credit terms with their suppliers due to Covid-19, finds the latest results from the ACCA UK and The Corporate Finance Network (The CFN) SME Health Tracker. The survey of accountants, representing nearly 19,000 SME clients, also shows that the current business environment of opening up is slowly easing the intense…
Read more
International technology-led services and payments specialist, Equiniti Group has announced the launch of an enhanced Know-Your-Customer (KYC) service for asset-based and invoice finance lenders. Equiniti’s dual automated and managed service helps lenders efficiently address the increasing KYC demands brought on by evolving regulation. Furthermore, the service provides futureproof access to third-party data sources through universal…
Read more
Optimum Finance has announced that its Founding Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and veteran of the invoice finance sector Richard Pepler sadly passed away on 5th June 2020. The Optimum Finance team, supported by investors JRJ Group, have expressed their sincere condolences to Richard’s family. Richard was well-known and much-loved in the industry and…
Read more
More than 910,000 businesses have now been helped by the banking and finance industry through the government’s coronavirus loan schemes. Figures published by HM Treasury has revealed that lenders have provided £38.2 billion through the three major government-backed lending programmes. £3.3 billion has been approved to 83,000 businesses in the past week, with more applications expected…
Read more
Businesses are facing significant difficulties in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and are pessimistic about their growth once the crisis passes, according to a survey commissioned by UK Finance and undertaken by BVA BDRC. The research finds that the COVID-19 crisis has negatively impacted 69 per cent of businesses, with three out of five…
Read more