Data on firms that took UK Covid loans to remain secret, tribunal rules January 5, 2023 Information on thousands of small businesses that received taxpayer-backed loans during Covid-19 will remain confidential, a tribunal has ruled. The decision to keep the names of companies that took support during Covid a secret comes after a tribunal blocked an anti-corruption campaign group’s bid to obtain the data through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. [...]
MPs say government was ‘complacent’ on Covid fraud in new report April 27, 2022 The government was “complacent in preventing fraud” against the Covid Bounce Back Loan Scheme and will lose almost £5bn to scammers, according to a Westminster committee. MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the £47bn loan scheme – which saw the government take on 100 per cent of default risk – was delivered at [...]
Less than two per cent of £1bn lost to Covid fraud recovered in three years September 6, 2023 Ministers have only recovered around £20m of the more than £1bn lost to Covid fraud in the three years since the start of the pandemic.
UK banks ramp up lending after Covid-19 support cliff edge July 18, 2022 UK banks are ramping up lending, marking the end of a loan drought after government Covid-19 support schemes were ditched. The total value of lending to UK businesses climbed £12bn to £533bn in the nine months to May, according to research based on Bank of England data published today by debt advisor ACP Altenburg Advisory. [...]
How crisis has become the norm for the UK’s small businesses, Tide chief February 9, 2023 Economic crises have rocked the UK’s smaller firms over the past three years – now they’re becoming par for the course, boss of small business banking firm Tide tells City.A.M.’s Charlie Conchie Small business banking has played a strangely starring role in the national drama of the past three years. When Covid first began to [...]
Ex-minister: Billions lost in Covid fraud ‘one of biggest cock-ups’ in recent history March 15, 2022 Billions of taxpayer money lost through Covid loan fraud is “one of the most colossal cock-ups in recent government management”, the ex-fraud minister has said. Lord Theodore Agnew told MPs on Westminster’s business committee that he was told to “butt out” by Treasury officials when he tried to crack down on fraudsters taking out Covid [...]
Alison Rose: How the first woman to lead a major British bank ran Natwest July 26, 2023 Dame Alison – or just Ms Rose as she was at the time – made history in 2019 when she became the first woman to take the top job at one of the UK’s big four banks. She took over a bank from New Zealander Ross McEwan, which had stabilised after the financial crisis nearly [...]
UK’s Insolvency Service uses new powers to crack down on Covid loan fraud July 25, 2022 The UK’s Insolvency Service has begun using new powers, given to it last December, to crack down on company directors that dissolve their firms to avoid making repayments on government backed loans. The Insolvency Service used its “tough new powers” to ban three individuals from acting as company directors, for dissolving their companies to avoid [...]
Londoner accused of using Covid bounce back loans to fund Isis May 3, 2022 Thousands of pounds worth of taxpayer backed Covid loans have allegedly been used to fund terrorist activities abroad.
Investment group backed by ex-Tesco boss probed over allegations of £2m Covid loan misuse May 11, 2022 We Are Nova, a start-up investment group with support from ex-Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy, is being probed over claims it misused Covid loans. According to The Times newspaper, companies associated with We Are Nova netted almost £2m through the government’s bounce back loan scheme. However, the firms did not seem to be eligible for [...]