BCR planning to redistribute Metro Bank and Nationwide’s £100m in “Pool E”

Banking Competition Remedies Ltd (BCR) has launched a consultation on what it should do with the returned £100m from Metro Bank and Nationwide after both admitted they would be unable to fulfil their public commitments.

In a letter to existing and potential applicants yesterday the BCR wrote that the funds would be split (£80m/£20m) between financial players that fit into the existing categories of Pools A-C and those who fit into Pool D.

“As part of designing the application process, we are seeking sector feedback on the optimal individual grant sizes for these funds,” said Aidene Walsh, the lead director of these Pools.

“We will then finalise and publish the process and timeline for applications as soon as practicable”.

The BCR wrote asking for feedback on the sizes of these grants, admitting that the ultimate eligibility and assessment criteria for those upcoming grants in a newly-fashioned “Pool E” had already been outlined in the design of the BCR process.

On a more positive note, the letter explained that existing awardees, previous applicants and new applicants would all be able to apply once Pool E is launched.

However, the timeline for the use of Pool E funds will be the tightest yet, with the BCR flagging that “it is likely to be important for Pool E projects to be completed by end of December 2022”.