At the 19th annual Thomson Reuters International Financing Review (IFR) awards gala dinner on Wednesday, 22 January £1,066,729 was pledged to Save the Children, the global charitable organisation providing relief to some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, President of Save the Children, attended the prestigious event to present Gary Cohn, President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs, with the coveted “Bank of the Year Award” for 2013. Last night’s total takes the cumulative fundraising figure from the annual awards ceremony to over £22million.
During the evening’s proceedings, senior representatives of the world’s leading investment banks pledged money to Save the Children via an interactive charity bidding board. Goldman Sachs topped the list of contributors with a phenomenal bid of £450,000.
Douglas Rouse, Corporate Partnerships Director at Save the Children said: “I will never cease to be amazed by the extraordinary generosity of guests at the IFR Awards. Once again, people have dug deep to help save children’s lives around the world and we are hugely grateful to all who have contributed to such an incredible total.”
The dinner, held in the Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, and attended by over 1,000 senior investment bankers, was organised by IFR, the world’s leading source of capital markets intelligence. The IFR event is recognised as the key awards ceremony for global financiers and is Save the Children’s largest single annual fundraiser.
“The generosity of attendees at the IFR awards dinner never ceases to amaze. It’s not an over-statement to say that the funds raised by capital markets participants and others last night will save the lives of vulnerable children. That’s a very sobering thought. The funds will also make some very special projects happen in key areas of Save the Children’s ongoing work around the world. The investment banking industry should be commended on this great achievement,” said Keith Mullin, Editor-at-Large of IFR.
IFR award winners for 2013 include:
- Bank of the Year – Goldman Sachs
- Bond House - Deutsche Bank
- Equity House - Goldman Sachs
- Loan House – Deutsche Bank
- Structured Finance House – Credit Suisse
- Derivatives House - Citigroup
- Restructuring Adviser – Houlihan Lokey
- Emerging Market Bond House – Citigroup
- High-Yield Bond House – Deutsche Bank
- Issuer of the Year - Volkswagen
A full list of the 2013 winners can be viewed here.