The British Business Bank has approved three new lenders in Allied Irish Bank, the Co-operative Bank and Starling Bank for its Bounce Bank Loan (BBL) scheme.
The scheme is intended to target small and micro-businesses in all sector with loans from £2,000 up to £50,000.
The fund, which is administered by the UK Government's economic development bank, sits alongside its Coronavarius Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) which provides funding of up to £5m for SMEs and its Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), which provides funding for larger firms up to £50m.
The three new lenders join the Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Clydesdale Bank & Yorkshire Bank, Danske Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Santander, TSB, RBS and Ulster Bank.
The BBL scheme has a 100% guarantee from the Treasury in the event of default.
Figures yesterday show that 69,000 loans, with a value of £2bn, were approved of it going live on Monday.
All lenders accredited under CBILS, which total 63, have been invited to become accredited to offer loans under the terms of the BBL scheme.
Keith Morgan, chief executive of the, British Business Bank, said: “There has been incredible demand from smaller businesses for Bounce Back Loans since the scheme launched this week.
"Onboarding lenders with the capability and means to deliver the scheme rapidly means that more UK smaller businesses will be able to access the finance they need to get through the current pandemic.”
The BBL scheme enables businesses to obtain a six-year term loan at a government set interest rate of 2.5% a year. The government will cover interest payable in the first year.
As under CBILS there is no requirement for personal guarantees.
