CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme)

CBILS was the larger sibling of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme — designed for businesses with more substantial turnover that needed Covid-era support above the £50,000 BBLS cap. Lenders ran a full underwriting process on CBILS deals (unlike BBLS self-certification), which is why approvals took longer and the eligibility bar was meaningfully higher.

Pricing on CBILS was set by the individual lender, not the scheme itself, but the first 12 months of interest and any arrangement fees were paid by the UK Government under the Business Interruption Payment. Beyond month 12, the borrower began paying the lender's normal rate. CBILS terms ran for up to six years for term loans and asset finance, and up to three years for overdrafts and invoice finance.

CBILS has been replaced by the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) for new lending. Existing CBILS balances still appear on company credit files and are taken into account by other UK SME lenders when underwriting new facilities. A clean CBILS repayment history is generally seen as positive — it demonstrates the business serviced Government-backed debt through a stress period.