UK banks have made initial claims worth £352mn from the government to cover losses on one of its flagship state-backed Covid-19 loan schemes, after recording default rates as high as 25%.

Banks in the UK have made claims worth £352 million from the UK Government to cover losses from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, after recording default rates as high as 25%.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published data which revealed UK bank’s rate of loss on the £47bn government-sponsored scheme.

The lenders have also submitted claims to the government for a further £1.6bn of losses, which are currently being processed. The banks have also said another £1.9bn of loans are in default, but they have yet to make claims.

The figures reveal that Barclays issued £10.8bn of loans and has claimed £88m of the loans it provided, at a rate of 0.81%. Santander UK issued £4.3bn of loans and has claimed £600,000, or a rate of 0.01%. Starling Bank has also claimed £61m of the £1.6bn it gave out in loans, a rate of 3.8%.

Metro Bank has claimed back £122m of the £1.4bn it issued, a rate of 8.5%. Virgin Money-owned Clydesdale provided £1bn of loans and has claimed £44mn, a rate of 4.4%.

The BEIS figures did not reveal any claims for loan losses by NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC.

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