SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT
2024/2025
Introduction to Reliance Bank
Reliance Bank has been at the forefront of ethical banking since 1890, when we were formed as the bank for The Salvation Army Reliance Bank is proud of its shareholder The Salvation Army International who, motivated by the love of God, is working to fight injustice, and support thriving, resilient, holistic communities and individuals Reliance Bank partners with its customers as a transformative enabler and is itself enriched as a service provider
Power to change lives for the better
How you choose the bank for your Business or Charity Current Account or a Savings Account, can make a positive difference to both people and the planet Individuals, businesses, and charities seek financial institutions that align with their values Reliance Bank offers an alternative to traditional banking by focusing on positive social and environmental impact
Reliance Bank uses a positive approach guided by the impact it wants to have The customer exclusions below clearly outline sectors and activities which do not fit with our values:
Negative impact on people: alcohol, gambling, pornography, tobacco, weapons, conflict minerals, human rights failures and lack of labour rights
Negative impact on the planet: animal testing, factory farming / fisheries, fur and specialty leather, deforestation, fossil fuel energy, genetic engineering, hazardous substances and mining
Negative ethics: poor accounting practices, corruption, tax evasion or violation of laws, codes and conventions
vest in the local community r, Reliance Bank is very proud cies to the United Nations’ nt Goals – a blueprint to help the planet’s future and
Social Import report each ccessful they have been ds that measure positive eason, we are delighted to ct Report for 2024/2025 ges
Reliance Bank helps people who believe – like we do – that money can be a force for good in the world and we continue to deliver positive societal outcomes aligned to the mission of The Salvation Army, our shareholder
There aren’t many ethical banks in the UK I'm proud that Reliance Bank is the only one owned by an International charity and Christian church Unlike traditional banks, we are committed to being guided by our ethical principles to improve the environment and society This means that we refuse to fund activities such as gambling or the mining of fossil fuels, and we provide funding to organisations that deliver positive social impact in the UK We call it Giving Money Meaning
Reliance Bank continues to align its lending practices to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) – a global framework for achieving a better and more sustainable future.
Culture and Values
Culture Statement
The culture we want to create is one that uniquely values our connection with The Salvation Army and is supportive, nonjudgmental, and caring for our mission, our people, and our customers We are focused on delivery and our performance, but in contrast to some organisations we have a more balanced culture to ensure the impact we make, risk management, our reputation, and our colleagues are held equally in high regard.
Values
Our Values guide us in how we work with our Shareholder, our Colleagues, our Customers and Society Each value has a set of behaviours reflecting how we would expect each category of these stakeholders to be treated
PARTNERSHIP
Methodology
This report is based on data during the period 01/04/2024 to 31/03/2025
The data is drawn from actual lending performance validated as part of the Bank’s annual audit process. There is also data kindly provided with our customer’s permission covering more specific impact areas from loans made to them in this period Case studies bring the data to life and are provided with our customers’ permission
Our Growth Year on Year
Reliance Bank statistics reported within the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals:
No Poverty and No Hunger
Health & Wellbeing
Education and Decent work
People helped to reduce hunger
Bed spaces created or renovated
sonal ment
What is Reliance Bank doing for the environment!
We are committed to continuously improving the environmental sustainability of the bank, seeking to be responsible stewards of the world we live in and to mitigate where possible the environmental harm arising from our operations
We are not formally required to report on our environmental performance due to our size but include the following on a voluntary basis as a demonstration of our commitment to reporting on and reducing our environmental impact in the future
Our impacts are limited given the current scope of this first year of reporting. This scope mirrors that of our parent, The Salvation Army International Trust (SAIT). Note that the Bank has no Scope 1 emissions and the pie chart and the bar graph represents Scope 2 emissions plus Scope 3 emissions from business travel only
We acknowledge that our wider Scope 3 impacts will be much larger, for example, through purchased goods and services and given our role in financing projects and organisations, and we will look to formally widen the scope of our reporting in the coming years
The Bank is actively working to improve our environmental performance and during 2024-25 carried out the following actions:
We completed a switch to LED lighting as part of a head office refurbishment project
We added movement sensors to the lighting on all refurbished floors to reduce energy demand. We reviewed the building energy operating times and settings to minimise energy consumed, and since the year-end we have been able to analyse our detailed ‘half-hour’ electricity consumption data which has spurred us on again to review these
Over 50 staff attended Environmental Awareness training across four sessions led by the SAIT IHQ Environmental Sustainability Lead.
We held a ‘disposable cup challenge’ in March 2025 to raise awareness about the impact of disposables and to encourage the use of reusables
We now collect food waste for recycling in line with the Simpler Recycling legislation that came into force on 31st March 2025.
Reliance Bank Carbon Emissions 2024-25 (tCO2e)
Faith
£15 6m
Community
£18 2m
Non-social impact
£17.2m
Healthcare
£17.0m
Social Housing
£11 0m
Total value of loans: £79m
Loan Book by Geographic Region as at 31/03/2025
North West Value: £2 9m
North Value: £3.5m
Yorkshire & Humberside Value: £3.1m
East Midlands Value: £5 2m
West Midlands
Value: £7.8m
South West Value: £11 7m
East Anglia
Value: £3.9m
Greater London Value: £21 6m
Outer South East Value: £20.1m
Total value of loans: £79m
Social Impact by sector as at 31/03/2025
£18 1m Faith
£15 6m Education
Community
£1.0m
Healthcare £17.0m
£11 0m
Total value of loans: £62.6m
Social Impact by geographic region in the year to 31/03/2025
North West Value: £2 9m
North Value: £2.4m
Yorkshire & Humberside Value: £2.6m
East Midlands Value: £3 7m
West Midlands Value: £7.4m
South West Value: £8 0m
East Anglia Value: £3.7m
Greater London Value: £15 6m
Outer South East Value: £16.4m
Total value of loans: £62 6m
Social Impact Loan Numbers
“The process was relatively straightforward, we were supported throughout by David Price It was nice to speak to a person rather than a computer. We were kept informed all through the process and everyone was very friendly ”
Julie Thomas - Business Manager and Company Secretary for South Devon Steiner School
Testimonial
Testimonial
“When we were thinking about taking a loan and we were looking at the various banks it was important to note that Reliance Bank is owned by The Salvation Army They are a Christian organisation and we are a Christian church We thought it would be a good way of making sure that the money we have also goes back into Reliance Bank and I know that Reliance Bank also supports a lot of charitable causes. And it has a desire to see that a church grows. So, we thought it was a good fit on both sides.”
Yinka Tomori – Chair of City Praise Centre
“Reliance Bank has been a refreshing partner and understands our vision for the future Their supportive team provided a seamless, and efficient service With a Bank which has listened and the experience it gives us confidence to continue our growth plans.”
Rahul Chhapwale – Director for Monarch Care Ltd
Testimonial
Our Performance
Earn interest, grow your savings and make a positive social impact.
Our customer’s deposits are used to provide funding to organisations like food banks that reduce hunger for people living in poverty. And our funding is used by community centres that allow young people who feel abandoned by society, by school, by family, the opportunity to feel cared for and included.
Choose from:
Fixed Term Deposit or Notice Savings Accounts if you can put the money aside for a period of time
Or Instant Access if you need to access your money
Available to: Businesses and Individuals Service
Online and telephone Banking facilities
UK Customer Service Team
Make deposits via any NatWest branch
Hover your phone’s camera over the QR code and explore our savings accounts:
Helping good people do great things with money
Reliance Bank has been at the forefront of socially responsible banking since 1890 when we were formed as the bank for The Salvation Army
The power to change lives for the better
As a Bank, we ’ ve supported businesses and charities for over 134 years and we prioritise business lending to organisations that deliver positive social impact in the UK, so you’ll be joining a group of like-minded people.