Emergency loan scheme has already lent £10.8bn to 35 of the biggest firms, says Bank of England chief
A Bank of England scheme set up to help larger companies with emergency loans has already dispensed some £10.8billion to around 35 big firms.
The scheme is advancing funds at a run rate of half a billion pounds a day, according to Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England.
The cash will help corporations to make a comeback once the crisis has receded.
A Bank of England scheme set up to help larger companies with emergency loans is advancing funds at a run rate of half a billion pounds a day
Around 300 of Britain’s most important companies are eligible for the scheme. They account for around a quarter of the total turnover and 18 per cent of employment in the UK.
In addition to the £10.8billion already taken, another £25billion has been agreed for them and a further 30 companies, which have been approved but have not yet drawn on their facilities.
Another 100 firms have applied and have been approved as eligible in principle, once their paperwork is sorted.
The Covid Corporate Financing Facility, set up in March, is a key element in the Government’s £330billion loan rescue programme.
The Bank has set in train a range of measures to aid the economy. Interest rates have been cut to just 0.1 per cent, a record low, and it has pledged to carry out billions of pounds more quantitative easing, which floods the system with newly-minted money.
The Bank has also taken steps to ensure UK lenders have ready access to US dollars. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Governor Bailey said he did not believe the actions taken would fuel inflation.
The large company loan scheme, he said, is doing what it is meant to do: ‘It has saved jobs.’