The banking and finance sector has lent over £5.5bn to SMEs so far through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), new figures from UK Finance have revealed.

The trade association revealed £1.4bn worth of loans were provided in the week between 29 April and 6 May as lending under the scheme continues to grow, while the number of approved loans grew by a third over the same period, increasing by 8,550 to 33,812.

The figures showed lenders have now received 62,674 completed applications under the CBILS so far, with 33,812 of these applications approved to date. UK Finance suggested more applications are still being processed and expected to be approved over the coming days.

UK Finance also highlighted the latest figures had come in the same week as the launch of the Bounce Bank Loans Scheme (BBLS), and figures published by the Treasury yesterday revealed 69,000 bounce back loans worth over £2bn were approved during the first 24 hours of the scheme.

UK Finance chief executive, Stephen Jones, said: “The banking and finance industry is committed to helping viable businesses of all sizes get through these tough times.

“Bank staff have worked tirelessly over the past week to provide businesses with the finance they need, delivering another £1.4bn of lending under the CBILS, on top of over £2bn in bounce back loans targeted at smaller firms and sole traders.

“This forms part of the industry’s broad package of tailored support for SMEs, with thousands of other businesses having their existing overdrafts increased, accessing new loans and asset-based finance or receiving capital repayment holidays on existing facilities.

“It’s important to remember that any financing provided under the CBILS or BBLS is a debt not a grant, and so firms should carefully consider their ability to repay before applying.”

Share Story: