Member Article

Regional business leaders hold Coronavirus conference call with Bank of England

Firms in Coventry and Warwickshire have spoken directly to the Bank of England to provide up to the minute feedback on the Coronavirus crisis.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce held a conference call with Graeme Chaplin, the Bank of England’s Agent for the West Midlands, with companies in both manufacturing and the service sector.

Graeme took feedback from the firms on the affects the outbreak had already had on their businesses and client-base and told them that help was at hand – and more may follow.

He said: “The measures that have been put into place by the Bank of England and by the Government over recent days are to ensure there is liquidity for banks to lend to ease cashflow concerns for business.

“Large firms can borrow directly from the Bank, backed by the UK government, by issuing commercial paper. That will help to support their short-term cash flow and so their ability to pay suppliers.

“In addition, the high street banks have been given access to Bank of England funding, via a Term Funding Scheme for SMEs, to support cashflow shortfalls at small and medium sized firms.

“There is no question that Covid-19 is already causing a severe shock to the economy and everything we are doing is to try to mitigate that.

“It was extremely worthwhile to hear from businesses which means any further support takes into account what is happening on the ground on a day-to-day basis.”

He added: “I’d echo what the Chamber has been saying over the past few days – that businesses need to ask for help and ensure they know what support and measures are out there.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .