Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Lloyds accused of abandoning small firms as it cut lending after financial crash

by April 7, 2025
April 7, 2025
Lloyds accused of abandoning small firms as it cut lending after financial crash

Lloyds Bank is under renewed scrutiny after former clients and whistleblowers accused it of failing small businesses in the years following the 2008 financial crash, despite receiving a £20 billion taxpayer bailout designed to keep credit flowing to SMEs.

A joint investigation by the BBC and Panorama has heard allegations that Lloyds deliberately scaled back lending and wrongly categorised viable businesses as “distressed” to recoup funds more aggressively, potentially hastening their collapse.

Several business owners told the programme that their companies folded after being placed into the bank’s Business Support Unit (BSU) – a division that was ostensibly created to help firms in difficulty. Instead, they claim the BSU offered little genuine support and accelerated the closure of salvageable operations.

James Ducker, a former Lloyds employee who sold financial products to businesses in 2009, said the bank’s internal strategy after the crash became clear: “The approach to lending became: do not lend. Beyond that, get as much money back that we’ve lent as possible.”

He described customers referred to the BSU as “easy pickings” for a bank looking to reduce its exposure.

A whistleblower who worked for an external consultancy brought in by Lloyds to advise firms within the BSU echoed the claims, saying many of the businesses they encountered “probably weren’t distressed, they were salvageable.”

Speaking anonymously, the whistleblower accused the bank of “planning the administration of these entities in advance of reports that were produced.” They claimed business plans were ignored and no real effort was made to save the companies involved.

“There was a pattern,” the whistleblower said. “They weren’t interested in saving the company.”

The accusations strike at the heart of conditions imposed on banks during the crisis. Then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown had insisted that state-backed lenders must protect access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses – a critical segment of the UK economy.

In a statement, Lloyds Bank “categorically denied” the allegations, saying: “These historic allegations have been thoroughly investigated by the group and found to be unsubstantiated. Our Business Support Unit supported many thousands of customers.”

The latest revelations add to longstanding questions about how some banks treated SMEs in the aftermath of the crash – and whether government safeguards were properly enforced. For Lloyds, which has faced similar scrutiny in the past, these claims are likely to reignite calls for greater accountability and transparency over its post-crisis conduct.

Read more:
Lloyds accused of abandoning small firms as it cut lending after financial crash

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Farmers hope for rain as dry spell stalls spring crops across the south
next post
Top 10 Features a Modern Cryptocurrency Exchange Should Have

You may also like

UK construction output in ‘contraction territory’ for first...

August 5, 2022

Virgin Atlantic braces for economic turbulence as air...

November 3, 2022

The Angel 2400: An Innovative Leap in Vaping

May 20, 2024

Questions mount as HBOS scandal victims await delayed...

September 16, 2024

Putting on a brave face: Why marketers have...

April 16, 2024

Airport strikes to wreak havoc

December 19, 2022

Tesco ordered to drop Clubcard logo after High...

April 20, 2023

Mortgage bills ‘to rise by £5,000 a year’

October 15, 2022

New Prime Minister Truss needs to reform more...

September 5, 2022

Competition and Markets Authority opens probe of Microsoft’s...

September 16, 2022

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Business leaders paralysed by risk warn BDO as caution stifles growth

      June 9, 2025
    • Starmer pledges £1bn investment to supercharge UK tech and AI infrastructure

      June 9, 2025
    • 5 terrifying flashpoints that could ignite global war

      June 9, 2025
    • HMRC inheritance tax investigations surge 37% as treasury seeks to plug revenue gap

      June 9, 2025
    • Believ secures £300m to roll out 30,000 public EV charge points across the UK

      June 9, 2025
    • US and China hold London talks to ease trade war tensions

      June 9, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,160)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,572)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved