HSBC splurges £10,000s on gay marriage ads but scraps free charity accounts

Jan 26, 2022 by Jill

by Tony Rucinski, Coalition for Marriage:

HSBC has splashed tens of thousands of pounds on adverts supporting same-sex marriage, while ending free banking for community groups.

In May last year, the banking corporation sent out a letter saying its policy of giving free accounts to all non-profit community groups with incomes of less than £100,000 was ending. With 80% of the UK’s 163,000 voluntary groups potentially affected, any that bank with HSBC will have been moved to a £5-a-month charity account. They are now treated the same as non-profit organisations that have a turnover of up to £2 million. Additional charges include handing over 40p to pay in a cheque and a fee of 0.4 per cent on cash deposits.

A number of groups have complained that, on top of the challenges they face from the pandemic, this leaves their future in doubt.

Yet despite ending this service to community groups – hugely valuable to them, small change for HSBC – the corporation has money to spare promoting fashionable causes that have nothing to do with banking.

Read here