Banking Competition Remedies Ltd (BCR) opens application window for Pool C of RBS bail out fund

The Capability and Innovation Fund is designed to support the development of wider capabilities and competition in the SME banking markets. The fund comprises of four pools with a total value of £425 million.

Pool C is a combined value of £40 million split into four x £10 million grants. The pool aims to facilitate the expansion of business offerings to include, lending or payments services to SMEs in the UK or international payments services to SMEs in the UK.

The key dates for the application process of Pool C are as follows:

Pool B
(09:00 on) 1 May 2019: Application window for Pool C opens
(17:00 on) 22 May 2019 Deadline for applicants to submit questions about Pool C
(17:00 on) 28 June 2019: Application window for Pool C closes
14 August 2019: Public announcement on Pool C

Pool C has a pre-determined application window of two months followed by one month for evaluation and a decision by the Board on successful applicants shortly thereafter.

For all four Pools of the Capability and Innovation Fund BCR has engaged an outside contractor, Baringa, to deliver the pre-Board processes and act as a resource to the BCR Board. BCR’s Evaluation Committee discuss the output of this process and present a set of supported applications to the full Board, for consideration and final decision. More information on the decision-making process can be found here.

BCR will continue to update its website with relevant information and updates on its FAQs page (https://bcr-ltd.com/faqs/). Should an applicant wish to submit a query about their application, they are encouraged to do so via the online application portal.