However, Scottish Financial News reported last month that the banking body is refusing to supply a breakdown of lending by individual banks, amid suspicions that many banks are obfuscating the delivery of the business loans. It is known that over 50% of the lending has come from the taxpayer-owned RBS alone.

Over £1.33 billion of loans have been approved in the week from 21 April to 28 April 2020. The number of loans provided through the scheme has increased by 8,638 over the same period to a total of 25,262, an increase of over 50 per cent.

The banking and finance sector is providing a range of support to SMEs to ensure they can receive the help most appropriate to their needs, including capital repayment holidays, overdrafts, working capital extensions and asset-based finance.

Lenders have received 52,807 completed applications under the CBIL scheme so far. 25,262 of these applications have been approved to date, while more applications are still being processed and are expected to be approved over the coming days.

Following reforms to the CBIL scheme introduced this week by the Treasury and British Business Bank, supported by regulators, the largest lenders have announced they will not require forward-looking financial information and will only ask businesses for information and data they might reasonably be able to provide at speed. This should streamline the application process and help lenders provide financing to businesses who need it as quickly as possible.

The British Business Bank approved four more lenders for accreditation under the CBIL scheme this week, bringing the total number of accredited lenders to 52. This means businesses can now access financial support under CBILS from a wide variety of firms.

The industry is also working closely with the Government and regulators to deliver the new Bounce Back Loans scheme which will make it quicker and easier for smaller businesses to apply for and access the finance they need.

Stephen Jones, chief executive of UK Finance, said: “The banking and finance sector recognises the role we must play in getting the country through these tough times, and staff are working incredibly hard to get money to those viable businesses that need it.

“More than £4 billion has been delivered to over 25,000 businesses so far through the CBIL scheme, as part of a broad package of support for SMEs including capital repayment holidays, extended overdrafts and asset-based finance.

“The changes to the scheme announced by the Chancellor this week will enable lenders to streamline their application processes and help even more businesses access the support they need.

“This extensive support will be complemented by the new Bounce Back Loans scheme targeted at smaller businesses, which lenders are now working at pace to get up and running from Monday.”

Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, commented: “While the number of firms accessing CBILS is on an encouraging upward curve, a concerningly high number of firms continue to struggle to access this crucial lifeline.

“The Bounce Back loan scheme is a welcome step toward getting cash to the smallest firms more quickly. The UK government and financial institutions should simplify and standardise the CBILS application processes to unlock access for more businesses of all sizes.

“Serious consideration must also be given to the expansion of grant schemes for firms unwilling to take on more debt repayments.”

• Read all of our articles relating to COVID-19 here.