Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which government department was responsible for approving Greensill Capital as a lender under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme; and whether in making this decision they took advice from any other government department or regulatory agency.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Business Bank is responsible for accrediting lenders to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Greensill Capital (UK) Limited were approved by the British Business Bank for CBILS and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme last year in accordance with its published guidance on accreditation.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 17 December 2020 (HL 11087), whether they continue to believe that it would not be the best use of public resources to publish the names of firms borrowing under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of facilities made available under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will be published where required by the European Commission’s Transparency Aid Module.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which government agency was responsible for monitoring the activities of Greensill Capital under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme; and whether in their monitoring duties they involved or sought advice from any other government department or regulatory agency.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All accredited lenders across the three Covid-19 loan schemes (the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme) are subject to audit by the British Business Bank to ensure their compliance with scheme rules. The British Business Bank has appointed KPMG and RSM to undertake annual audits of each accredited lender under the schemes.
The audit programme has been established to provide assurance as to whether the participating lenders are administering the schemes in line with guarantee agreements entered into with lenders, as well as other agreed rules and procedures of the schemes. An audit review panel within the British Business Bank has been established as the governing body that provides direction and subsequent actions based on findings from the audits. The panel’s responsibilities include reviewing all draft audit reports to determine remediation actions required by lenders. The panel also monitors auditor performance and agrees the strategy for the following year with respect to operational audits.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) value, and (2) number, of Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans made through Greensill Capital or its subsidiaries and associates; what is the (a) value, and (b) number, which were at annual interest rates of 14.9 per cent or higher; and what the reasons are for Greensill having now been withdrawn from the list of government approved lenders.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Greensill Capital were approved by the British Business Bank (the Bank) in June last year to provide finance through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS). All accredited lenders are subject to audit by the Bank to ensure their compliance with scheme rules. If serious non-compliance is identified, the Bank is entitled to take remedial action. Such action might include termination of the Guarantee Agreement or withdrawal of the Guarantee. It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases given commercial sensitivities.
We are unable to provide of a breakdown of CLBILS data by lender as this is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total value of loans extended under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme where the annual rate of interest exceeds 14.99 per cent; and what is the highest rate of interest at which a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan has been made.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Interest rates are set by lenders under the scheme. The British Business Bank and BEIS do not approve individual commercial terms. Some delivery partners accredited before the 14.99 per cent maximum rate of interest was in place can issue CBILS facilities with interest rates above 14.99 per cent.
Facilities worth a total of £19.64 billion have been offered under CBILS. The total value of loans offered under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) where the annual rate of interest exceeds 14.99 per cent is £35,364,874. The highest individual interest rate for a loan offered under the scheme is 34.9 per cent (all figures correct as of 17 December 2020).
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 16 November (HL9859), which Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan lenders have charged interest rates of more than 14.99 per cent per annum; and what is the total value of such loans.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Interest rates are set by lenders under the scheme. The British Business Bank and BEIS do not approve individual commercial terms. Some delivery partners accredited before the 14.99 per cent maximum rate of interest was in place can issue Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) facilities with interest rates above 14.99 per cent. We are unable to provide a breakdown by lender as this data is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 16 November (HL9859), whether any lenders charging 14.99 per cent per annum or more for Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans also charged arrangement fees of more than 3 per cent per annum.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Interest rates are set by lenders under the scheme. The British Business Bank and BEIS do not approve individual commercial terms. Some delivery partners accredited before the 14.99 per cent maximum rate of interest was in place can issue Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) facilities with interest rates above 14.99 per cent. We are unable to provide a breakdown by lender as this data is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what value of loans extended by Greensill under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme had annual rates of interest of more than 10 per cent per annum; and what proportion of Greensill loans within the Scheme involved an arrangement fee of 3 per cent per annum.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are unable to provide of a breakdown of Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme data by lender as this is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan (HL9789) on 12 November, who is responsible for collating and acting on information concerning recipients of loans taken out under (1) the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and (2) the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Lenders accredited to deliver the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Bank Loan Scheme are responsible for collecting data concerning recipients of loans. This data is collated by systems managed by the British Business Bank.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 2 December (HL9789), what assessment they have made of the case for publishing the names of those firms borrowing under Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounce Back Loan Scheme to facilitate identification of fraud; and why they are delaying publication of this information until it is made available on the European Commission's Transparency Aid Module.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Given the necessary preparation and administration involved in publishing the information, we consider that the best use of public resources would be directed to pulling this information together to meet our existing obligations.
We continue to work across Departments, and with lenders and law enforcement agencies, to tackle fraudulent abuse of the schemes.