Posted on September 19, 2008 - by James

UK: Coutts Bank Launches Microfinance for Philanthropists…

United Kingdom, September 17 - Coutts, the UK’s second oldest private bank, has launched a new service which allows clients to access advice on maximising their donations in microfinance.

The bank is responding to demand from clients for more advice on microfinance donations. The new advisory service and donor advisor fund will help clients make informed decisions on positively impacting the world’s three billion impoverished people.

Mark Evans, head of philanthropy at Coutts said: “Giving to charity is a personal act of generosity, so its only natural that Coutts clients should desire a greater involvement in how they select and support the recipients of their charitable investments. The Coutts Microfinance Pilot is a first step to providing real guidance aimed at high net worth donors in particular who want to give poor people the chance to earn their way out of poverty.”

“It is just as important when making a social investment as making a financial investment to know as much as you can about a charitable organisation and its field of work when making a contribution.” Said Maya Prabhu, Coutts senior philanthropy adviser.

Microfinance was first attributed to Nobel Prize Winner Dr Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh in 1976.

[original news wire here]