Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Welsh Development bank lost £62m
Nation Cymru reports that the Development Bank of Wales – which is wholly owned by the Welsh Government – made a loss of more than £62m, according to its latest accounts:
Launched in 2017, when it succeeded its predecessor Finance Wales, the bank’s remit is to invest in companies that, despite having a good business model, can find it difficult to secure credit from the commercial banking sector.
DBW has been in the news recently because of its role in the “dodgy donations” scandal involving Mr Gething.
Nation.Cymru revealed how Mr Gething had received donations totalling £200k for his successful Welsh Labour leadership campaign from Dauson Environmental group, whose main director and owner is David Neal, who has been given two suspended prison sentences for dumping toxic sludge in the Gwent Levels, a sensitive landscape to the south east of Newport.
We also revealed that one of the companies in the group had received a £400k loan from DBW – raising questions about why it had been necessary to borrow money from the Welsh Government’s bank. At the time of the loan, Mr Gething had responsibility for DBW as Minister for the Economy, although he has stressed that he has no decision-making role in relation to loans made to companies by the bank.
It really is not going well for Wales' new First Minister.
Launched in 2017, when it succeeded its predecessor Finance Wales, the bank’s remit is to invest in companies that, despite having a good business model, can find it difficult to secure credit from the commercial banking sector.
DBW has been in the news recently because of its role in the “dodgy donations” scandal involving Mr Gething.
Nation.Cymru revealed how Mr Gething had received donations totalling £200k for his successful Welsh Labour leadership campaign from Dauson Environmental group, whose main director and owner is David Neal, who has been given two suspended prison sentences for dumping toxic sludge in the Gwent Levels, a sensitive landscape to the south east of Newport.
We also revealed that one of the companies in the group had received a £400k loan from DBW – raising questions about why it had been necessary to borrow money from the Welsh Government’s bank. At the time of the loan, Mr Gething had responsibility for DBW as Minister for the Economy, although he has stressed that he has no decision-making role in relation to loans made to companies by the bank.
It really is not going well for Wales' new First Minister.
