Charity Bank: social sector gaining confidence to borrow

Charity Bank – the bank that exclusively serves the social economy – is experiencing an increased demand for loans, which it says suggests that the charitable sector is growing in confidence.

The organisation said it had approved loans collectively worth around £5.7m from January to April this year, up from £4.2m over the same period in 2013.

Loan applications for January to April also rose 51.4% when compared to the same period in 2013, and the bank said it expected this growth to continue.

“Confidence to borrow reflects a confidence to grow. An appetite for sound borrowing is more often than not an indicator of good health for an organisation, and a loan can be the key to unlocking further monies”, said head of banking Carolyn Sims.

“We believe that this is just the beginning of a new, sustained surge in demand for borrowing, and the bank is gearing up to meet it.”

In April, the social investment bank Big Society Capital announced a £14.5m investment in Charity Bank.

It is hoped the investment will enable the bank to reach its ambitious target of increasing lending from around £55m in 2013 to around £250m by the end of 2018.

Photo: David Sim via Flickr

Further reading:

Charity Bank eyes growth after £14.5m social investment from Big Society Capital

Charity Bank: a social purpose alternative to the high street

Charitable sector ‘emerging from recession’, says Charity Bank

Charity Bank to show customers the ‘journey’ of their money

The Guide to Sustainable Banking 2013