Greensill

[SydneyRover]

Struggling to find the number.

The amount that David Cameron requested as a CCFF loan to support Greensill in April last year. Can't see it mentioned anywhere.

It won't have been chickfeed as it was a scheme that provided for several hundred million quid to be issued to each borrower. Heavy duty stuff.

This would have been taxpayer money to support a bank that went bust less than 12 months later.

Credit to the Treasury for not falling for it.

BH, here are some of the numbers being talked about and indeed it's not chicken feed

''Greensill was accredited as an intermediary lender for the second-largest scheme – known as the coronaviruslargebusiness interruption loan scheme, which came with an 80% government guarantee – last year.

However, supply chain finance firms such as Greensill were only allowed to issue individual loans worth up to £50m to each borrower. When the firm was denied access to the CCFF, its Australian founder, Lex Greensill, asked ministers for permission to write loans worth up to £200m, in line with other lenders such as Barclays.

That request was reportedly denied by Treasury officials, who said it would represent a “significant exposure”, the FT said.

It emerged earlier this month that the British Business Bank, which administers the bulk of the emergency Covid loan schemes, revoked Greensill’s government guarantee, leaving the firm, rather than the UK taxpayer, on the hook for any customer defaults''

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/19/cameron-lobbied-uk-government-behalf-greensill-access-covid-loans-reports-says

[BigH]

Thanks Syd.

Two things:

1. Greensill was initially accredited for the Government's CBILS/CLBILS schemes (whereby they could lend to borrowers against an 80% government guarantee) but subsequently had its accreditation for the CLBILS scheme 'suspended'. Given that over 75 financial institutions in the UK got accreditation to lend under the CBILS schemes and a smaller more select group were accredited to the CLBILS scheme that's a pretty damning indictment of their lending practices.

2. About a year ago, Greensill asked to borrow money for itself under the CCFF scheme. This would have been used to shore up its own balance sheet. We don't know how much they wanted but it's not a good look for a bank to go cap in hand to the government for support.

Worse still when said bank goes bust less than 12 months later.

How much did Cameron know when he approached Sunak in April 2020? If he knew that Greensill was in a mess then, effectively, he could have been party to an attempt to defraud the Government, spaffing taxpayer's money up against the wall trying to keep a bust bank from going under. Or maybe it was a desire to protect his $60m of share options that skewed his judgement?

Either way, it was naughty, very, very naughty. 'Conspiracy to defraud' can get you up to 10 years btw.

[BigH]

More coming out now.

Cameron asked for £10-20 billion.

[BillyStubbsTears]

David Cameron?

David....Cameron?

Day...vid Ca...mer..on?

Surely not!?!

That can't be the same the David Cameron who got to No10 by spending 2 years relentlessly lambasting the last Labour Govt for the debt it ran up pulling the entire banking system out of the shite after a global collapse, thereby preventing a second Great Depression.

Odd isn't it, how some folk change their stances 180 degrees when someone flashes a few million quid under their noses?

[BigH]

Fair play to Cameron, he doesn't do things by halves.

I mean, if you're going to ask for a favour then make it a £10 or £20 billion quid favour.

None of this 'a couple of hundred grand for the flat', 'a few mill for a briefing room', 'forty five million for a rag mag owner's stamp duty'.

The thing that gets me is the ask was for £10 to 20 billion. You'd think they'd have a bit more of a handle on what they'd actually need?

It's hardly as if he's asking a mate for a tenner to help him out with a round of drinks...

[BillyStubbsTears]

Well. Looks like we can all text Johnson to ask for preferential COVID tax treatment now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56937889

[drfchound]

Well. Looks like we can all text Johnson to ask for preferential COVID tax treatment now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56937889

That could be really good for the country BST.
Just imagine all the information that people who know better could pass on to him.
Really, you should give it a go mate.