Banks leaders of the pack in charity stakes

The banking sector is the largest contributor to community causes according to new data from the Directory of Social Change.

The top 5 companies ranked in order of UK charitable donations are all banks and out of the league table of the top 25 companies, seven are banks, together contributing £142.9m during the year 2005/06. This represents more than the combined donations made by the remaining 18 companies from all sectors.

Total community contributions by banks reached £180.7m, again more than the combined total of the rest of the top 25 companies.

Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association said: “Banks and their staff are the champions of charitable and community work. These figures represent only the tip of the iceberg as far as banks’ charity work is concerned. Apart from banks’ direct contribution shown in the Guide to UK Company Giving, they are there to collect contributions for disasters and high profile charity events such as Children in Need and Comic Relief, not to mention the countless hours that bank staff devote to helping run charities, manning charity donation telephone lines and organising community groups such as youth clubs, scouts and guides.”