COVID-driven travel restrictions and social distancing have had an immediate and dramatic impact on the cash flows of many corporates and SMEs, from airlines to retailers to restaurants. Banks are already being inundated with requests for credit and must make urgent and “distressed” credit decisions. This flow will increase in the coming weeks/months as cash reserves run down and clients look to banks to deliver billions of lending support. Near-term bank decisions on how to respond to clients’ financing needs will have a huge impact on the economic consequences of the crisis, including whether companies survive and continue to employ staff.
