Barclays to donate £100m to COVID-19 charities

Barclays chief executive Jes Staley at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit at Union West Events in New York City on 10 October 2019. (Jim Spellman/Getty Images)

Barclays (BARC.L) plans to donate £100m ($123m) to charities addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout.

The bank said on Tuesday it would donate £50m to charities working with vulnerable people affected by COVID-19 or helping to alleviate the social and economic impact of the crisis.

A further £50m has been earmarked to allow the bank to match charity donations made by its employees.

Barclays’ chairman, chief executive, and finance chief are all donating a third of their fixed pay over the next six months to charity as part of the programme. Collectively, the trio are giving up £800,000 in pay.

“We want to do more to back the communities in which we live and work, and to provide help to those who have been hardest hit by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic,” chief executive Jes Staley said in a statement.

“That’s why we’ve launched this community aid package, which we hope will make a positive difference, working with charity partners here in the UK and around the world to deliver help where it’s needed most.”

Barclays has already announced COVID-19 support for customers that includes free overdrafts and banking support for small businesses and waived overdraft fees for customers.

“As a bank we have been doing all we can to look after our customers, clients, and colleagues through this crisis,” Staley said.

Staley is one of a number of banking executives giving up money due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Last month Spanish bank Santander launched a €25m fund to fight coronavirus, financed partly by 50% pay cuts for the bank’s chair and chief executive.

Separately on Tuesday, TSB announced that its chief executive and executive committee would be giving up their bonuses this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“As an Executive Committee, it is right to give up these awards, so that we are better able to recognise the work our colleagues on the front line are doing to help customers,” chief executive Debbie Crosbie said.

The bank didn’t specify how much the bonuses would be worth but last year Crosbie earned a bonus worth £185,000.

The chief executive of challenger bank Monzo last week also told staff he would give up his pay for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.