LONDON: The "Big Society Bank", established by British Prime Minister David Cameron to help disadvantaged youths back into employment and fund social enterprise, officially launched on Friday with 600 million pounds ($980 million) of capital.
The Big Society Bank said it would get 400 million pounds from dormant bank accounts and a further 200 million from Britain's "Big Four" banks Lloyds, Barclays , HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland
Conservative leader Cameron has used the term "Big Society" to convey his idea of devolved power, with ordinary citizens running services traditionally managed by the state.
However, his vision of engaged citizens, less state control and more philanthropy has been panned by critics as simply designed to plug the holes left in local services by government spending cuts.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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