This update provides further analysis of the data about the government’s Covid-19 emergency loan schemes published in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s Annual Report 2021
- Overwhelming majority of businesses meeting monthly repayments
- 4% of all facilities have already been paid back in full
- 2% of all facilities have been subject to a default
- 21% of businesses which had a Bounce Back Loan facility have accessed one or more Pay As You Grow option
As of 30 September 2021, businesses have drawn 1,637,804 facilities, totalling £77.44 billion, through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). The three schemes were established by the government in early 2020 to support UK businesses that were losing revenue and seeing their cashflow disrupted as a result of the pandemic.
Early data shows that businesses have made a positive start to repayments, with the significant majority of businesses meeting monthly repayments. A proportion of businesses have chosen to repay their loan in full already and current levels of distress amongst borrowers are relatively low.
While it is too early to give a definitive view of the final level of defaults, this latest data suggests that the current levels of failure to repay are lower than some illustrative worst-case scenarios presented prior to repayments commencing. These levels are, however, subject to any changes in market conditions or individual circumstances, and would therefore be expected to fluctuate in the future.
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
Almost 88% of all repayments on CBILS facilities are on schedule Read footnote text 1 and over 11% of scheme facilities are fully paid back. Fewer than 0.5% are in arrears, with a similar proportion having defaulted.
Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)
Over 85% of all repayments on CLBILS facilities are on schedule, and over 14% of scheme facilities are fully paid back. Fewer than 0.2% are in arrears, with around 0.6% having defaulted.
Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)
The vast majority of payments are being made as expected under the scheme Read footnote text 2 . Over 4% of all scheme facilities are fully paid back. Under 7% of all scheme facilities are in arrears, with over 2% having defaulted.
Bounce Back Loans – Pay As You Grow options
Over a fifth (21%) of BBLS borrowers have used one or more of the Pay As You Grow options announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in September 2020. These give greater flexibility to businesses who wish to manage their loan repayments more effectively by offering a variety of options to structure their repayments.
All businesses remain responsible for repaying facilities under CBILS, CLBILS and BBLS, and are fully liable for the debt.
Additional information
- Data drawn on 30 September 2021 from the information continuously submitted to the British Business Bank’s lender portal by accredited lenders. The portal is used to administer guarantees in the event of borrower default. Portal data is dependent on lenders submitting accurate and timely data and is not real-time.
- Lenders may change loan data depending, for example, on borrower behaviour (e.g. a borrower may wait three months until the final notice to pay arrears off), internal business-as-usual processes, scheme rules or regulatory requirements. As a result, data may vary from month to month, in particular ‘in arrears’ and ‘loans defaulted’. In some cases, facility numbers will not sum to 100% as some loans may be counted in more than one category.
Repayment status of Covid-19 emergency loans Read footnote text 3
Repayment in full
| No. of facilities drawn down | Total Value of drawdowns (£bn) | No. of facilities repaid | % of facilities repaid in full | Value repaid (£bn) | % repaid by value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBLS | 1,539,788 | 46.72 | 61,809 | 4% | 2.04 | 4% |
| CBILS | 97,293 | 25.79 | 10,952 | 11% | 2.04 | 8% |
| CLBILS | 723 | 4.93 | 103 | 14% | 0.75 | 15% |
| All schemes | 1,637,804 | 77.44 | 72,864 | 4% | 4.82 | 6% |
Reported arrears
| No. of facilities drawn down | Total Value of drawdowns (£bn) | No. of facilities in arrears | % of facilities in arrears | Amount of arrears (£m) | % of drawdown amount of arrears Read footnote text 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBLS | 1,539,788 | 46.72 | 106,209 | 6.9% | 125.4 | 0.3% |
| CBILS | 97,293 | 25.79 | 585 | 0.6% | 10 | 0.04% |
| CLBILS | 723 | 4.93 | 1 | 0.1% | 1.5 | 0.03% |
| All schemes | 1,637,804 | 77.44 | 106,795 | 6.5% | 137 | 0.2% |
Reported defaults
| No. of facilities drawn down | Total Value of drawdowns (£bn) | No. of facilities defaulted | % of facilities defaulted | Value of defaults (£bn) | % defaulted by Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBLS | 1,539,788 | 46.72 | 37,670 | 2.4% | 1.31 | 2.8% |
| CBILS | 97,293 | 25.79 | 718 | 0.7% | 0.14 | 0.5% |
| CLBILS | 723 | 4.93 | 4 | 0.6% | 0.01 | 0.2% |
| All schemes | 1,637,804 | 77.44 | 38,392 | 2.3% | 1.46 | 1.9% |
BBLS Pay As You Grow (PAYG) usage
| No of facilities drawn down | % of BBLS borrowers | Value (£) | % by Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses using PAYG loan extension to 10 years | 129,061 | 8% | £4.49bn | 10% |
| Businesses using PAYG 6-month repayment holiday | 78,260 | 5% | £2.63bn | 6% |
| Businesses using PAYG loan extension to 10 years plus 6-month repayment holiday | 67,748 | 4% | £2.45bn | 5% |
| Businesses using PAYG 6-month interest only repayments | 24,806 | 2% | £768m | 2% |
| Businesses using PAYG loan extension to 10 years plus 6-month interest only repayments | 18,578 | 1% | £649m | 1% |
| Businesses using all three PAYG mechanisms (loan extension/ 6-month repayment holiday/6-month interest only repayment | 3 | 0% | £0.14m | 0% |
| Total number of businesses using any Pay As You Grow option | 318,456 | 21% | £11bn | 24% |
About Bounce Back Loan Scheme – BBLS
BBLS was a demand-led scheme offering lending that targets small and micro businesses, providing loans from £2k up to 25% of the business’ turnover with a maximum loan of £50k. Providing lenders with a 100% government-backed guarantee and standardising the application form led to a faster process with many loans becoming available within days. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme enabled businesses to obtain a six-year term loan at a government set interest rate of 2.5% a year. The government covered interest payable in the first year. The scheme closed on 31 March 2021.
About Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme – CBILS
CBILS was a demand-led scheme offering lending to smaller businesses with turnover of up to £45m. Invoice finance and asset finance facilities were available from £1k to £5m, while term loans and revolving credit facilities were available from £50k to £5m. The government made a payment to cover interest and lender-levied fees under CBILS for the first 12 months. The scheme closed on 31 March 2021.
About Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme – CLBILS
CLBILS was a demand led scheme targeted at larger businesses with a turnover of more than £45 million. CLBILS can be used to support term loans, revolving credit facilities, invoice finance facilities and asset finance facilities. The maximum amount available through CLBILS to a borrower and its group was £200 million. Term loans and revolving credit facilities over £50m were offered by CLBILS lenders which had secured additional accreditation. The maximum size for invoice finance facilities and asset finance facilities was £50 million. Companies borrowing more than £50 million through CLBILS were subject to further restrictions on dividend payments, senior pay and share buy-backs during the period of the loan. The scheme closed on 31 March 2021.
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1
Includes facilities being paid off as expected and facilities yet to have a first repayment fall due
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2
Because many borrowers are using Pay As You Grow options, it is not possible to provide a definitive figure for on-schedule payments for BBLS
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3
Data from British Business Bank systems, as at 30 September 2021
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4
Amount of arrears includes the actual value of arrears rather than the total value of loans which are in arrears