Bristol-headquartered ethical bank Triodos has been named as the best bank for the charities in recognition of its outstanding support for the sector.
The Charity Times Awards, now in their 24th year, celebrate best practice across charities and not-for-profit organisations, plus the businesses that support them. 
Triodos Bank UK beat Barclays and CAF Bank, a subsidiary of the Charities Aid Foundation, to land the Bank of the Year title at Tuesday’s awards ceremony in London.
Triodos Bank’s recent work with the sector has included a crowdfunding raise for the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), one of the UK’s largest charitable social enterprises, plus a loan to South Wales charity ELITE, which provides hundreds of disabled and disadvantaged people each year with the skills and assistance they need to access paid employment.
Earlier this year, it provided £3.75m lending to rewilding charity Heal in what is believed to be the first commercial loan of its kind in the UK.
This was used to acquire a site in Somerset, pictured, that will be home to the first in a series of new nature reserves Heal plans to establish in every English county.
Triodos focuses on what it calls making money work for positive change and uses customers’ deposits to provide a range of finance and tailored support to progressive companies, social enterprises and charities making an impact, both from an environmental and social perspective.
Its range of services includes current accounts, investments and savings.
Triodos Bank UK director of business banking Phillip Bate said: “We believe banking can be a powerful catalyst for achieving positive and lasting change and have a strong affinity with the charity sector.
“Much like the charities we work with, we aim to help create a society that protects and promotes quality of life for all and supporting them is intrinsic to our mission, rather than simply a product or service that we offer.
“We’re proud to have this work recognised by the Charity Times Awards and will continue to look for new ways to use our innovation, experience and flexibility to support charities and non-profit organisations.”
Founded in 1980, Triodos has become a global front runner in sustainable lending and investment and co-founded the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, a network of 60 sustainable banks.
It has banking activities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany as well as the UK, where it has operated for nearly 30 years and now employs around 200 staff in Bristol, London and Edinburgh.
Earlier this year it was named ‘best ethical financial provider’ category at the British Bank Awards for a second year in a row.
