Coronavirus support measures from banks
The Government is committed to helping businesses and individuals facing financial difficulty due to Coronavirus.
Whilst the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is up and running, it is disappointing that so many people are finding that some banks aren’t lending in line with the spirit of the Government’s aims.
Many constituents have raised their concerns with me and I am directly taking these up with banks and the Government on their behalf.
In the meantime, I hope the below information provides clarification on what banks are doing to address these delays as well as specific measures for business and personal customers.
RBS
Business customers:
· RBS have now approved around 4,500 Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) applications.
· Their lending starts at £5,000 and they do not take any Personal Guarantees.
· The vast majority of their customers (85%) are now getting a call back within a day.
Personal customers:
· RBS have processed more than 100,000 mortgage repayment holidays. On application, they let customers know that if their payment was due in the next 14 days, they may not be able to stop the payment. They have e-mailed customers affected to let them know that they will still benefit from the full 3 month offering, but this will run May – July.
· They have removed late credit card payment fees and frozen overdraft interest rates at current levels for personal customers for at least three months. They have also removed all other overdraft fees and charges.
· They have extended their support to include a £500 interest-free overdraft buffer and three-month repayment deferral on credit cards. Customers should apply online at NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank NI.
· They have passed on the Bank of England base rate decreases to mortgage customers.
· Vulnerable customers and NHS workers now have the option to get cash delivered securely to their home address.
· Colleagues behind their Customer Care lines can now also issue a code over the phone which customers can give to a friend, neighbour or volunteer to withdraw an agreed amount of cash from an ATM within the next three hours.
· They have backed LINK’s 12 month pledge to maintain free-to-use ATMs if they risk closing or switching to pay-to-use as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
· They have reached out to over 228,000 customers over the age of 70 who don’t have access to digital banking to check on their welfare and find out how they can support them.
· Many branches remain open and they’re prioritising core opening hours from Monday to Friday, from 10am to 1pm.
HSBC
Business customers:
· HSBC have approved over 3539 loans under the CBILS scheme, with their total lending under CBILS standing at over £480.5 million.
· From Monday 20th April they will reduce the minimum amount that sole traders and partnerships can borrow through CBILS from £25,001 to £10,000 to make it easier for smaller businesses to access liquidity.
· Through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, HSBC will offer loans on negotiated rates of up to £25 million for businesses with a turnover between £45m - £250 million and loans up to £50 million for businesses with a turnover of over £250 million.
Personal customers:
· Staff have spoken to 200,000 customers identified as vulnerable to discuss their banking needs during the crisis.
· They have handled more than 234,000 inbound calls from key workers and vulnerable customers through their dedicated fast track service.
· 95% of HSBC UK branches remain open
· Repayment holidays for mortgages, credit cards and unsecured loans are live
Barclays:
Business customers:
· The bank has a dedicated page to check eligibility for the Business Interruption Loan Scheme: https://www.barclays.co.uk/business-banking/borrow/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan/#checkeligibility. They do not require personal guarantees on CBILS loans of any size
· Barclays has waived everyday banking fees and overdraft charges for small business customers
· SMEs with turnover under £250,000 will now benefit from free everyday banking and no overdraft fees or interest until August
· 12-month capital repayment holiday on existing loans over £25,000
Personal customers:
· Online applications for repayment holidays now live for Residential and Buy-to-Let mortgage holders financially impacted by Covid-19
· Customers can switch from ‘capital repayment’ to ‘interest only’ mortgages for up to 12-months
· A three-month moratorium on repossessions
· Waiving all interest on arranged overdrafts until 30 April, with further support from May to be announced
· Potential to remove penalty charges for impacted customers accessing savings early
· Three-month payment holidays on loans and credit cards for impacted customers
· An increased contactless limit of £45
· Temporary credit limit increases to customers facing financial hardship
· No late payment and cash advance fees for the next 90 days
Lloyds:
Business customers:
· Using the £2bn Coronavirus fund they set up at the beginning of the crisis, with 17,000 capital repayment holidays and 10,000 overdraft extensions put in place so far to help businesses
· CBILS from £10,000 for limited companies and from £25,000 for others, up to a maximum of £5m
Personal customers:
· Offered personal customers payment holidays on mortgages, loans and cards
· A £500 interest-free overdraft, no fees for missed payments and access to fixed term accounts without charge.
· Agreed more than 350,000 personal loan payment holidays and nearly 300,000 mortgage payment holidays.
· Motor finance customers can access three-month payment deferrals on Hire Purchase, Personal Contract Purchase and Contract Hire products.
· Dedicated phone line for elderly customers with over 95,000 customers supported
· Enabled a trusted person limited access to an account for customers who need cash but can’t get to a branch and don’t bank digitally
