Bounce back loan borrowers could have names made public
The names of all companies that accessed the bounce back loan scheme (BBLS) could be disclosed publicly if anti-corruption campaigners win their appeal next week.
Spotlight on Corruption will ask a tribunal on Monday to order the British Business Bank to comply with a freedom of information (FOI) request it made two years ago to publish the names of all firms that accessed the scheme, according to the Financial Times.
Read more: Bounce back loan report ‘inconclusive’
The British Business Bank rejected the campaigners’ FOI request on personal data protection grounds.
But this week, the state development bank warned accredited lenders that it could be forced to publish the names of borrowers if Spotlight wins the appeal, according to an email seen by the Financial Times.
The BBLS was launched in May 2020, offering loans of up to £50,000 which were fully underwritten by the government. The aim of the scheme was to get money to struggling microbusinesses as quickly as possible to support them during the pandemic.
A total of 1.5 million loans worth £47bn were issued through the scheme but official estimates have suggested that almost £5bn could have been fraudulently obtained due to minimal credit checks.
Former peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle is among the firms that facilitated bounce back loans.
The British Business Bank already publishes names of firms that borrowed under other Covid-19 schemes, such as coronavirus business interruption loans.
But there are concerns that disclosure of BBLS borrowers could leave individuals exposed, as many of the companies that used them were sole traders with accounts in their name.
Read more: Covid loan default rates deemed “encouraging”
The British Business Bank told the Financial Times that the information included “a substantial amount of personal data” where “businesses trade under the names of their proprietors”.
“Free publication of a database of close to 1.7 million loans, and the full details of the businesses who have received them, runs the risk of presenting an opportunity to fraudsters, who may utilise the information to their advantage, for example to commit identity theft or to carry out various social engineering frauds,” it said.
The appeal hearing is scheduled to last three days.