The publication Charity Finance has recently published its 2011 Banking Survey. 241 Charities in the UK, ranging from small charities to those with incomes in excess of £20 million responded to a number of questions, covering amongst other things, customer satisfaction ratings, specialisation, ethical banking and the aftermath of the banking crisis.

Almost half those surveyed have reviewed their banking arrangements in the last year, as recommended by the Charity Commission, with almost half spreading their money across more than one bank. It would appear that multi-banking is common practice in order to reduce risk (the Financial Services Compensation Scheme limits have been increased from £50,000 to £85,000) and to shop around for better deals including higher deposit rates.

Whilst interest rates remain low however, there is evidence that banks are striving to compete on service levels, with new products and services, many of them sector specific, being introduced to attract new customers.

Customer satisfaction ratings were measured across branch services, interest rates, telephone services, internet services, relationship manager and fees/charges. Unity Trust and Co-operative banks scored particularly well in these areas, with the Co-operative Bank’s charity and social enterprise division experiencing exceptional growth, including in Scotland where a new team of specialists has been formed.

Whilst less than half those surveyed believe that it is important that their bank has a specialist charity division, an ever increasing majority believe that a bank’s ethical/socially-responsible approach is important. This would seem to reflect the sector is looking for a social return on their investments as well as a financial return.

Finally, one interesting development in recent years is the introduction of online and telephone banking. By far the most regularly used service, both for viewing and making transactions, is the website and with the phasing out of cheques, this is an area which will become even more important.