How we love to hate bankers. Some people may even welcome the news that HSBC will axe more than 10,000 jobs. But to gladly accept that news would be to undervalue the role banks can play in our economies. Meanwhile, the enthusiasm that greeted the?launch of Big Society Capital (BSC) suggests a development that governments, banks and social innovators should monitor.
Social entrepreneurs have been lionised for a decade, but the downside is that they are now expected to shoulder a growing share of society's intractable problems as government budgets are cut. There is growing concern about just where the funding will come from.
Part of the answer has been well-endowed foundations set up by the multimillionaires of the new-economy boom. But even such welcome generosity only takes you so far when spread across the immensity of social and environmental problems faced by countries and communities around the world. So what role can, or should, governments play?
One solution is clear, with the launch of BSC. Run independently from government, BSC will offer socially orientated financial organisations greater access to affordable capital, using an estimated £400m in unclaimed assets left dormant in bank accounts for more than 15 years and £200m from the largest High Street banks.
Sir Ronald Cohen, a pioneer in social investment, will be non-executive chair of BSC. He reckons that innovations such as social impact bonds and an array of organisations operating across the social sector suggest that we're on the cusp of a revolution.
It remains to be seen how quickly the capital is channelled to deserving social change agents, how well they do in leveraging funding, how quickly BSC can access other sources of finance, and how attractive this model will prove elsewhere. But at last there will be one group of bankers who can hold their heads up in society.
