I knew I should have given this new section of the website a different title, for today’s “Bank Bosses say the craziest things” video should be called “MP’s say the craziest things”, for that is what the subject matter is about.
Back on the 1st of December 2020, Kevin Hollinrake MP (Thirsk and Malton, Conservative) who I have had something of a heated conversation with on the phone about the problems with Bounce Back Loans, stood up in the House of Commons and asked John Glen MP, The Economic Secretary to the Treasury a couple of important questions.
He explained that many people trying to get a Bounce Back Loan were facing problems getting one due to either accredited BBL lenders not opening up to new customers or slamming the door to new business account customers.
He asked John Glen, who had Rishi Sunak sat by his side, what action the Treasury was going to take to address that problem, for he believed a quarter of a million people were unable to access the scheme who qualified and were eligible for a BBL.
John Glen then explained that the Government cannot force lenders to open to new customers, and he explained that out of the 29 lenders a whopping 9 of them had opened to new customers (some only for a few days by the way) and the Government had “repeatedly encouraged” lenders to open to new customers when they can.
For reference not one lender I know of that is part of the scheme that has not accepted new customers has gone on to do so.
Watch Kevin’s face and Glen tries to waffle his way through some facts and figures to try and pacify him and make everything seem nice and rosy in Bounce Back Loan land…..
The final statement by Glen sees him explain a new Guaranteed Loan Scheme, will be rolled out once the Bounce Back Loan scheme ends, which at the time was pencilled in to be January the 31st 2021.
However, never one to miss a trick, Rishi decided to extend the scheme he had just been told is not helping many people for another 2 months until the end of March, which means those unable to get a Bounce Back Loan could now waste another 2 months not getting one, as banks have not changed their stance on new business account customers, except a few who will let you apply for a business account but only if you promise not to apply for a BBL.
You could not make it up.
The extension of the scheme did also piss off 100,000’s of SME’s who had been pinning their hopes on getting one of those new Guaranteed Loans in February.
As it stands, and boy have I asked, the new Guaranteed Loan scheme will be announced at some point moving forward, many I have asked seem to believe Rishi is waiting for his Budget on March the 3rd when he will stand up an announce that new scheme, but there is a chance that it could be on February the 22nd, as hints have been repeatedly dropped that is when Boris will be announcing his “Road Map” to get us out of this, for want of a better word, shit.
Will that loan scheme be on favourable terms for SME’s, well just keep in mind it is the British Business Bank who have told me they are working on that scheme with HM Treasury, and way back before BBLs went live they wanted the Bounce Back Loan scheme to be more like CBILS, which charge a huge interest rate and offered a smaller Government Guarantee and were by their very design much harder to get.
We will have to see what Rishi comes up with as he keeps us all in suspense. Anyway, here is the video: