Russian banks gave more to charity in 2014
Russian banks gave more to charity in 2014
Moscow, 01.04.2015
New research by CAF Russia on charitable donations by the 50 largest Russian banks shows that the economic downturn has not yet affected banking sector charitable giving.
The first survey of this kind was done in 2012. It looked at banking sector donating trends, types of giving, donation policy, how they chose programmes and partners, the PR effect, and at the effectiveness of their donations.
In 2015 the study looked at the top 50 banks in terms of their 2014 financial situation, compared with 2011; and at their donations, from statistics from the Central Bank. The economic crisis of 2014 has not yet affected the charitable donations of the major banks, which actually increased, though they are thought likely to fall in the near future. In 2014 the 50 largest banks donated roubles 12,118,492,000 (£143,118,000) – almost double the amount donated in 2011. Over the same period their total income fell from 581,155,317,000 roubles to 578,949,170,000 roubles. The share of their income spent on charitable giving thus rose from 1.17% to 2.09%.
The leading donor banks were the Moscow Bank, with 4,497,840,000 roubles in donations, along with Sberbank Rossiya with 2,447,124,000 roubles and Gasprombank and the Foreign Trade Bank with over 1bn roubles. (1,000 roubles = just under £12)
In 2014 the percentage of income given to charity rose in the case of 15 banks. Seven banks made no income (profit) so this figure cannot be assessed. The situation is that charitable giving is based on the banks’ income of the previous year, and uses funds accumulated over previous years. About half the banks surveyed decreased their charitable giving in 2014 because of a decline in income.
Yulia Vyatkina
