A new report into charity banking shows growth of cash assets and highlights which charities have the most cash and the biggest debts
The UK’s top charities increased their cash levels by half a billion pounds last year according to new research from Charity Financials.
The Charity Banking Spotlight Report, is based on the top 5,000 charities in terms of income, expenditure or net assets.
It finds that in 2017-18 cash levels exceeded £16.7 billion, which is a considerable growth on the £16.2bn reported in the previous financial year.
The findings show that from 2010 to 2012, cash assets experienced steep growth from £14.7bn to 16.7bn, however, in 2014 fell sharply to £15.4bn. Since then, the value of charity cash assets has grown steadily and now the figures have returned to roughly the same high point recorded in 2012.
The report records the top 25 charities in terms of the cash they hold, as well as the banks they use, in addition to the number of years their relationships have existed.
Charities Aid Foundation comes top of the list with the highest cash values, followed by Church Commissioners for England and The British Council. The top 25 collectively have cash of £3.3bn.
The report also shows which charities had the most bank loans, mortgages and overdrafts in the past financial year. International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company has nearly £1.6bn in borrowings, followed by Charities Aid Foundation with £1.02bn.
The report examines which banks are the most popular among the UK’s largest charities. Barclays continues to be the most popular bank used by the UK’s largest charities in 2017/18, closely followed by NatWest, with 20.4% and 19.98% market share respectively. Lloyds, HSBC and RBS make up the top five banks used.
A spokesperson for Charity Financials said: “Using the information recorded in the Charity Financials database, we can also see how long charities and banks have lasted. The report finds that 14% of charity-bank relationships have existed over for 16 years and a staggering 55% of these relationships have lasted for 10 years or more.
“However, it is good practice for charities to assess their advisers every four to five years to ensure they get the best from the relationship.”
Charity Financials has been tracking the financial performance of the top 5,000 charities in its Spotlight series of reports for five years.
The Charity Banking Spotlight Report was sponsored by Barclays Bank.
