I want everyone who has still yet to secure a Bounce Back Loan to read through the update below, it’s important you do so as you are possibly going to sadly face all manner of problems when you do apply for one.
One thing I am happy to report however, is that I have been contacted and told those in power are listening to my concerns and I have had a chat with them and they have promised to look into the problems that are stopping people applying for BBL’s or causing delays to those applying.
So, I am spending the weekend compiling a report which will then be passed onto the “right” people/departments for their most urgent attention, with the aim of getting “answers” and solutions. But more on that later.
I am going to give you an insight into the current state of play of the scheme below, and will also let you know what you are going to face when trying to apply with any of the small handful of lenders that are offering new customers the chance to apply for a bank account and then give you option of applying for a Bounce Back Loan.
You have until March 31st 2021 to apply for a Bounce Back Loan.
Bounce Back Loan 2?
Rishi Sunak has announced that a replacement/new loan or loans scheme(s) will be available in once the BBL scheme ends, however no details have been released, in fact no name or names have been announced for that/those scheme(s) and the terms of any additional loan or loans scheme(s) have not even been decided yet.
So therefore one can only guess what the terms of any additional loan(s) will be, with most industry commentators saying it will not be as “generous” as the current loan schemes are, but we will have to wait and see of course.
Besides, many people have not even got an original “MKI” Bounce Back Loan yet, never mind worrying/hoping whether another similar loan will be available.
AVOID Bounce Back Loan “Brokers”
Please, please, please do NOT be tempted to apply to one of the Bounce Back Loan brokers who are trying to cash in on the BBL scheme.
I am aware and have made the relevant authorities aware of some companies offering those desperate to get a BBL a brokering service. They either charge you an upfront fee and/or will ask for a percentage of your loan as their fee.
There is no broker out there that can do anything more than you can do to get a BBL full stop.
No matter how attractive or appealing their website and any literature they may supply appears do not be lured into using their “services”.
Who to Approach for a Bounce Back Loan?
You need to approach one of the current 28 accredited Bounce Back Loan lenders if you want a Bounce Back Loan.
You will however face a problem with 27 of those lenders as they are only allowing their current customers to apply or have closed the door and are not allowing anyone to apply.
So, as it stands if you are not a customer of any of the following lenders, some who also will only allow you to apply for a BBL if you had an account opened before a certain date and/or who will additionally only allow you to apply for a BBL if you were using that account for business purposes too, then you can knock these off your list of potential lenders to apply to.
Lenders Only Servicing Existing Customers
- Adam and Company
- AIB
- Arbuthnot Latham
- Bank of Ireland
- Bank of Scotland
- Capital on Tap
- Close Brothers
- Coutts
- Danske Bank
- Funding Circle
- Investec
- Lloyds Bank
- NatWest
- Paragon
- Santander
- Skipton
- Co-Operative Bank
- RBS
- TSB
- Ulster Bank
HSBC Now Slam the Door shut
- HSBC** UPDATE NO NEW CUSTOMERS
HSBC – Sadly HSBC have now also shut the door to new customers and as such unless you had a new account application in before 09:00 on September 30th you will not be able to apply or be considered for one.
Metro Bank Now Slam the Door Shut
- Metro Bank** UPDATE NO NEW CUSTOMERS
Metro Bank – Sadly Metro Bank have now also shut the door to new customers and as such unless you had a new account application in before 8am on Friday 9 October you will not be able to apply or be considered for one.
Barclays Bank Now Slam the Door Shut
- Barclays Bank** UPDATE NO NEW CUSTOMERS CAN APPLY FOR A BBL
Barclays Bank – Sadly Barclays have now also shut the door to new customers and as such they now insist to apply for a Bounce Back Loan with them you have to have had a personal or business account opened and in use before March the 1st this year. Personal account holders who do meet that criteria must go on to open a Business Account. They instigated those new rules on the 13th of October.
Yorkshire Bank Now Slam the Door Shut
- Yorkshire Bank** UPDATE NO NEW CUSTOMERS CAN APPLY FOR A BBL
Yorkshire Bank – Sadly Yorkshire Bank have now stopped accepting new customers for Business Bank Accounts if they established their businesses before the date they would qualify for a Bounce Back Loan
“Unfortunately we are not accepting applications from new customers with businesses established on or before 1st March 2020 at the moment.
Please check our website for future updates about Business Current Account application criteria. We’ll keep this up to date so you’ll know when you can apply.”
Clydesdale Bank Now Slam the Door Shut
- Clydesdale Bank** UPDATE NO NEW CUSTOMERS CAN APPLY FOR A BBL
Clydesdale Bank – Sadly Clydesdale Bank have now stopped accepting new customers for Business Bank Accounts if they established their businesses before the date they would qualify for a Bounce Back Loan
“Unfortunately we are not accepting applications from new customers with businesses established on or before 1st March 2020 at the moment.
Please check our website for future updates about Business Current Account application criteria. We’ll keep this up to date so you’ll know when you can apply.”
Lenders Not Accepting BBL Applications
The following two banks are not currently accepting applications for Bounce Back Loans, Tide has no more money allocated to lend out and Conister have announced they have enough applications in to use up their BBL funding allocation.
- Conister
- Tide
Lenders Accepting New Customers
There is just now one accredited BBL lenders that are accepting new customers but be aware there are many reported problems that you could face when applying.
- Starling Bank
Starling Bank – Starling Bank are accepting new customers, but be aware they have a waiting list, and if you want a BBL you must go on that waiting list. They do not guarantee you will be invited to apply for one and they do not guarantee they will give you a BBL even if you meet the standard criteria.
Therefore, you could be on their waiting list for weeks/months and never be invited to apply for a BBL and even if you are invited, they have their own additional criteria in addition to the standard BBL criteria. Also read the next section on the Industry Shared Database below.
Barclays – Only existing customers can apply for a Bounce Back Loan if they had an account open and in use before March the 1st this year.
Metro Bank – Closed to New Account Applications
Shared Industry Database
If you apply for a Bounce Back Loan, the lender you are applying with will of course perform their standard checks to ensure you are eligible, and one of those checks is to look on the Shared Industry Database to see if you have already got a Bounce Bank Loan with another lender.
Whilst that seems like a good fail-safe system many people are finding out that their details are on that database when they have simply applied for a BBL and have not been approved for one, been on a waiting list for a BBL or even applied for and never got a Feeder Account.
Some lenders are not going to approve you for a BBL if they see you on that database, even if you have not got a BBL, and will then force you to contact the bank that has entered your details on that database and get written proof that you have not received a BBL for the business entity you are applying for a BBL for.
That database is also being misread by some bank staff processing BBL’s, and in some instances that database has wholly inaccurate information on it, I.E. you have got a BBL but have not, again due to staff members of another bank adding information onto it incorrectly and/or reading the database incorrectly.
When you are declined for a BBL you may not be told why, so you will first have to ascertain if its due to you allegedly having a BBL or that you have applied for a BBL or even a Feeder Account with another bank and if it is, you are then forced to have to try and contact the bank that added your details onto the register to get a letter proving you have not got a BBL from them.
That sadly is going to stress you out no end, for you will not know which department to contact and could be on the phone for hours and hours each day trying to get in touch with someone on phone support who understands what your problem is and can direct you to the right team to supply you with that written proof.
Tide and Starling Bank have however explicitly stated they can and will supply such a letter, proving if nothing else that problem does exist, but the other lenders have not. So be aware of that added bit of nonsense as quite disgustingly the banks have turned their problem into your problem in that regard.
If you find yourself in that situation and have no idea of who to contact with any bank, please read the section below on how to contact the CEO of a bank, as most banks will have a team of staff answering such emails and will hopefully point you in the right direction as to who to contact.
CEO Email Addresses
One way to get some action or some form of update from a bank when you have been waiting a long time for a BBL or bank account (including feeder and servicing accounts updates), is to contact the CEO of the bank and a full list of CEO email addresses are on this page of the website