Earlier this summer, I was delighted to present our latest whitepaper which was essentially a thought leadership piece on the Government’s Bounce Back Loans (BBLS) – focusing mainly on the risks of the scheme and other Whiteball-backed initiatives like it.

Schemes like the BBLS, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Larger Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), and the Future Fund are all designed to help businesses survive, recover and grow as we start to exit what everyone hopes and prays will be the end of Covid-19 restrictions.

What is important to note is that almost £80 billion worth of loans have been approved for businesses since March this year and because of that, the BBLS especially is recognised as having provided a lifeline for many SMEs.

However, the loans are one thing, but there’s no getting away from the fact that they must be repaid and have therefore created mountains of debt for SMEs – not to mention worry about how they will be able to meet their repayment obligations.

Within my whitepaper I therefore cover the risks for both lenders and borrowers, why outsourcing support may be a route lenders can go down, and why they must define and implement a simplified process to help borrowers.

All the support initiatives and the transition to a post-covid normal remain a hugely complex fiscal balancing act for Boris Johnston and his Government. Without being aware of all the risks, and potential solutions, I worry that BBLS lenders and in particular vulnerable borrowers could be severely burnt in the long-term.

To download and access my whitepaper, you can visit the following page on the Sigma Connected website here

For further information you can also contact Jaco through email or connect with him on LinkedIn