UK banks approve £35bn in state-backed loans amid heavy demand

Loans for 830,000 firms have been signed off but banks can't keep up with demand for emergency funds

UK banks have approved nearly 35bn worth of government-backed loans for more than 830,000 businesses hit by the Covid-19 crisis, but lenders are still struggling to keep up with demand for emergency funding.

Figures released by the Treasury on Tuesday showed that banks granted a further 3.6bn worth of loans to 85,000 businesses in the week to 7 June, with the 100% state-guaranteed bounce-back loans (BBLS) for small firms logging the largest rise.

By midnight on 7 June there's been a total of:

8.9m jobs furloughed
19.6bn claimed in total

Apply for a grant to cover the wages of your furloughed staff: https://t.co/DCxs5YyfeI pic.twitter.com/PTnZWsZYp8