The loan and savings bank – which is owned by charities and social purpose organisations – has grown its loan book by over 120% since the start of 2015.

Following this latest lending rise, Charity Bank has launched its 'Bank on Us' campaign to reduce the cost associated with taking on a new loan and refinancing an existing loan.

The campaign comes after the bank increased the interest rate paid on its ethical easy access account.

Patrick Crawford, chief executive at Charity Bank, said that despite the challenging and uncertain outlook, charities and social enterprises had continued to take on new projects to address social needs.

“The resulting loan demand from the social sector has continued and shows no sign of slowing.

“Our Bank on Us campaign is part of our pledge to continue to work side by side with social sector organisations seeking to use loan finance to make a bigger difference.

“By reducing the costs associated with taking on a new loan and refinancing an existing loan, we aim to give a little extra back to the charities and social enterprises we have the privilege to work with every day as they help the disadvantaged, enrich lives and improve communities.”

Charity Bank's record growth in Q1 2018 follows three consecutive years of record lending, with the bank providing £34.1m to organisations in the social sector during 2017.