Government should build on the success of coronavirus bounce-back loans to help many more businesses

The effectiveness of the new scheme highlights the slowness of the government's original plan to support businesses. Ben Chapman considers what can be done to reform the CBILS

The chancellor, Rishi Sunak (PA)

The government's "bounce-back" scheme, which rapidly grants loans of up to £50,000 to businesses affected by coronavirus, has proved to be a tremendous success, with small firms receiving 69,000 emergency loans worth in excess of £2bn in its first 24 hours of operation.

Most of the money was in firms' accounts within a day of filling out a short application. For that, the government and banks should be applauded.

However, the bounce-back loan scheme's very success has also served to highlight the major deficiencies in the government's other main effort to lend money to small and medium-sized businesses - the less-than snappily named Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).