British Airways will be temporarily barred from paying dividends to its parent IAG after securing a government guarantee for a GBP2b loan, designed to help its recovery from turbulence caused by coronavirus and Britain’s exit from the EU. IAG said BA had received commitments for a five-year loan from a syndicate of banks. The new loan has been facilitated by a state guarantee designed specifically to help UK businesses post Brexit, offered through UK Export Finance (UKEF). IAG said BA’s GBP2b credit line would be drawn down in January, subject to settlement of terms. However, BA will not be allowed to pay dividends to its parent for the term of the loan, which could put pressure on IAG’s own capacity for dividend payments. BA is IAG’s biggest single contributor to group profit, the company confirmed. IAG said it continued to explore other “debt initiatives” to improve liquidity, which stood at €8bn excluding the UKEF guaranteed facility. BA would use the funding to prepare for a partial recovery in air travel as governments begin to roll out vaccines to contain the spread of the virus.<br/>