Company launches to prepare for social investment bank

Company launches to prepare for social investment bank

News

In anticipation of the government providing funding for a social investment bank on the findings of the Commission on Unclaimed Assets, the chair of the commission, Sir Ronald Cohen, has launched Social Finance, a limited company, to prepare the ground for the bank in anticipation of the Government deciding to go ahead with the scheme.

The company will raise about £1m from board members to cover set-up costs. It would focus on developing financial products for charities and advise them how to bridge the gap between charitable giving and commercial lending.

Executive Director Toby Eccles said: “Social organisations in the UK are inhibited by the way they’re financed. Social Finance will act as a catalyst to change this, enabling third sector organisations to tackle the issues that both government and the private sector find hard, such as youth exclusion.”

Chaired by Bernard Horn, formerly of Natwest Group, Social Finance’s board members include Geraldine Peacock, Matthew Pike, who also were involved with the commission; as well as Penny Newman, former chief executive of Cafédirect; David Robinson, head of the Prime Minister’s Council on Social Action; and Peter Wheeler, a former Goldman Sachs partner.

Last year the Commission on Unclaimed Assets recommended that at least £250m lying dormant in bank and building society accounts be used to fund a social investment bank.