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LendingCrowd Update On COVID-19 16th April 2020
By LendingCrowd.
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to affect all our lives, we want to assure our valued community of borrowers and lenders that we’re doing everything we can support you all at this difficult time.
We’ve reached out to every LendingCrowd borrower and asked them to complete a questionnaire to let us know how resilient their business was to the likely impact of Covid-19, and what we could do to help.
More than 50% of our borrowers have completed the questionnaire – we are grateful to them for taking the time to do so during this difficult situation. Even if they are trading normally or in a sector relatively unaffected we’ve still asked them to let us know.
One of the key requests we received was for a repayment holiday. This is not something we have previously offered, but we now have a process in place to offer a three-month repayment holiday.
To provide this, we have asked borrowers to supply us with up-to-date financial information that shows the trading profile of their business before and after the current restrictions took effect.
All requests will be assessed by our Credit team on a case-by-case basis.
What this means for lenders
For those businesses that have a repayment holiday approved, lenders will see a change to the borrower’s repayment schedule. This will show the next repayment being three months later than the original schedule repayment was due to happen. Interest will be accrued during this holiday. Lenders can check their LendingCrowd account at any time to see the status of individual loans.
We, and our borrowers, are grateful for the support our lenders have given to small and medium-sized businesses, which are the backbone of the British economy. By enabling borrowers to have a brief break from their loan repayments, our aim is to help them emerge from the Covid-19 outbreak in as strong a financial position as possible.
Everything we do at LendingCrowd is driven by the will to do the right thing for our lenders and borrowers.
For lenders with Growth or Income accounts, we have switched off the auto-invest feature. This means that repayments will not be automatically reinvested but sit in accounts as a cash reserve, giving lenders more time to evaluate how they want to proceed with their portfolios.
Sources of information
This situation is evolving rapidly, and the UK Government has set out a range of measures aimed at supporting businesses through the outbreak. You can find out more at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
One of the key measures is the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which can provide loans of up to £5 million for smaller businesses across the UK. The loans will be interest free for the first 12 months. Find out more at: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils/
The Federation of Small Businesses is also a valuable source of information: https://www.fsb.org.uk/campaign/covid19.html
We will continue to communicate directly with our borrowers and lenders as this situation evolves. Updates will also be provided on this blog. If you have any questions, please email contactus@lendingcrowd.com or call 0345 564 1600.
The entire LendingCrowd team is working tirelessly to deliver the best possible outcomes for all. Thank you for your continued support.
Read the main COVID-19 updates article: P2P Lending And COVID-19: News And Updates.
And: How COVID-19 Shows That P2P Lending Is A Fairer Investment.
