Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with banks operating the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme on the interest rates for those loans.

Interest rates charged under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) are set at the discretion of each lender. However, under the terms of the State Aid agreement, the Government fully expects that the benefit of the guarantee under the CBILS is reflected in the interest that is charged on the CBILS facility, both during the period of the Business Interruption Payment and thereafter for the remainder of the facility.

The Government held discussions with the banking industry prior to the launch of CBILS. The Business Secretary has had calls with UK senior executives at Natwest, Barclays, Aldermore, Lloyds, HSBC and Santander and will continue to hold a regular dialogue with each of the biggest CBILS lenders to address feedback on how the scheme has been working and closely monitor its implementation to ensure that companies feel the full benefits of this support.