East Midlands Chamber responds to UK Finance’s update on CBILS applications

UK Finance, the trade body representing more than 250 financial services firms across the UK, today announced that more than £2.8bn of funding had been lent to businesses under the Government’s Cornonavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

The organisation said that more than 9,000 loans have been approved over the past seven days, taking the total number of loans allocated to 16,600. Lenders have received more than 36,000 applications since the scheme was launched earlier this month.

Commenting, Scott Knowles, Chief Executive of East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire), said: “Although the increase in firms accessing CBILS is encouraging, there is still a clear need to ensure that the gap between applications received and those processed and approved can be closed quickly to ensure funding can reach the businesses which need it.

“Many firms are urgently trying to access financial support to help them ease cash flow and wage pressures and having to wait for their applications to be processed could be having a critical impact on their operations.

“We are also hearing from a lot of local businesses that accessing the scheme is a complex and lengthy process with no consistent approach between lenders, which is causing real problems on the ground.

“Government and lenders must continue to work together to address these common issues and improve the way the scheme works, so more firms on the frontline can access the cash they need, quickly.”