UOB to offer small businesses pre-approved loans of up to S$200,000

UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) on Tuesday evening announced that it will offer pre-approved loans of up to S$200,000 to ease the short-term liquidity woes of small businesses hit by the novel coronavirus fallout. 

These loans will be offered to the bank's small-business customers with a good repayment track record and at least a 12-month borrowing relationship with the bank, said UOB in a statement. 

The bank will contact all such eligible customers for the pre-approved loan by the end of this week. 

To receive their funds as quickly as in two business days, applicants need to authenticate their company information through MyInfo Business - the corporate extension of MyInfo where businesses can pre-fill forms - or submit details such as their company name and their contact number, said the bank. 

Small businesses which take up the pre-approved loans will also have the option to service only the interest on their loan until Dec 31, 2020.

With small businesses making up two in three of all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, UOB said its collateral-free loans will help many such companies, especially those from hard-hit sectors such as retail and food and beverage, gain quick access to much-needed funds. 

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"The reality is that small businesses already operate on tight cashflow and do not have the liquidity to withstand the prolonged economic shock that is expected from the Covid-19 pandemic. They thus require urgent access to funding in order to stay afloat. This is why we are proactively providing pre-approved loans for our customers to tap this source of funds as needed," said UOB head of group business banking Lawrence Loh. 

The bank approved three times more loans to small businesses in March, compared with January this year, when the virus outbreak first hit Singapore.