Desperate business owners applying to Lloyds for an emergency Government-backed lifeline were told they must risk their home and life savings to take out one of the bank’s own loans instead. Furious bosses said their applications for the new coronavirus ‘business interruption loan’ scheme were rejected. Rather than being offered the Government-backed loans, which are interest-free for the first year and free of initial charges, Britain’s biggest lender has been offering firms its own more expensive commercial loans instead. Business owners complained of being quoted interest rates as high as 22 per cent on a standard commercial loan. He also warned that many firms will go bust if they are forced to wait weeks for commercial loans to come through.

Source: Daily Mail March 30, 2020 21:02 UTC