Monday newspaper round-up: Banks, Wheaton Precious Metals, Covid economic hit

The government has been accused of failing to rescue struggling industrial companies through its “Project Birch” bailout scheme amid signs that manufacturers are slashing investment in a fight for survival. Against a backdrop of mounting job losses, Labour said the Treasury support scheme was gathering dust after only one company qualified for emergency bailout funding. - Guardian

The Treasury has told a new bank customer complaints body to prepare for an influx of grievances over government-backed Covid loans. The Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) – set to launch in mid-November - was preparing to tackle cases dating back to 2001. - Guardian

British banks have been accused of enabling fraudsters, criminals and money-launderers, following a leak of secret files. A cache of more than 2,000 suspicious activity reports (SARs) – those filed to the authorities by banks who suspect wrongdoing – reportedly contains allegations that a number of major UK lenders allowed dirty money to flow through their accounts. - Telegraph

An £18 billion gold and silver business is to unveil plans to list in London in what could be the City’s largest listing in almost a decade. Wheaton Precious Metals is planning a secondary listing on the main market in London alongside its existing listings in Canada, where it is based, and in New York. - The Times

The economy faces a hit of £250 million a day from a second wave of Covid-19 infections if partial lockdowns reverse the increase in people going to pubs and restaurants and returning to work, according to a new report. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a think-tank, warned that GDP could fall by between 3 and 5 per cent in the last three months of the year compared with the third quarter. Douglas McWilliams, the CEBR’s deputy chairman, said that a second national lockdown could “knock the stuffing out of consumer and business confidence”, with an impact on investment, business closures and jobs. - The Times