OakNorth Bank hits £36m lending milestone in two weeks

Business bank OakNorth Bank has approved a record number of new loans to UK companies over the past two weeks.

The bank, which is powered by tech firm OakNorth, has agreed £36m of loans to British for British firms over the past fortnight while awaiting CBILS approval.

The news comes as businesses across the country have been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent government-mandated shutdown of all but essential businesses.

Ben Barbanel, head of debt finance at OakNorth Bank, commented: “Growth companies are the backbone of the UK economy - their survival is essential to ensuring the UK can get back on its feet as soon as possible following this crisis.

“Unfortunately, due to exceptionally high demand at the clearing banks, many aren’t being able to get access to the finance they need as quickly as they need it, even if they can demonstrate they were a viable business before the crisis.

“We are in a fortunate position to be able to help these businesses and have been hosting several more credit committees per week than usual in order to do so. We hope to be onboarded to the CBILS very soon and will continue supporting viable UK businesses where we can in the meantime.”

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