Four lenders asked to be temporarily removed from the website for the UK government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme because they struggled to keep up with soaring demand from small businesses clobbered by the pandemic fallout.

The British Business Bank, the state-owned organisation in charge of the plan, confirmed on 1 April that the lenders requested that their logos be removed from the list — made up of 40 institutions providing small firms with loans backed by an 80% government guarantee. None of the lenders have withdrawn from the scheme.