There has been some interest in Lloyds Banking Group's support for Scottish charities ("Charity loses court battle with bank", The Herald, January 24).
Given some misunderstandings we wish to set the record straight.
We take our social and community responsibilities seriously and our track record in Scotland, as well as across the UK, bears that out. We firmly believe we should play our part in supporting the disadvantaged in our society. Over the past 25 years we have given more than £510 million to good causes in the UK through our four charitable foundations, including over £82m to Scottish charities through the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland since 1986.
Following the group's acquisition of HBOS in 2009 we began discussions with our four charitable foundations about a new funding model. We were able to agree a proposal with three of the four foundations. We regret an agreement could not be reached with the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland. To ensure we continued support for Scottish charities, in 2010 we launched the Bank of Scotland Foundation. It has already donated more than £2m to help hundreds of Scottish charities, leveraging the commitment and fundraising activities of our 19,000 Scottish employees.
The group will continue to fund and support the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland for the remainder of our agreement and we hope to build a more constructive working relationship in future. In addition, Lloyds Banking Group is to commit a further £1m a year to the Bank of Scotland Foundation.
The work of the Bank of Scotland Foundation is especially important at a time when charities are under enormous pressure. This additional support will enable us to help even more in 2014.
Philip Grant, Chairman, Scottish Executive Committee, Lloyds Banking Group, The Mound, Edinburgh.
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