How much interest per day does Celtic make on £100 million? The answer might shock you…
Eric Knott 
(Photo by Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
I’m not privy to who Celtic as a club does their banking with, but I’m pretty sure the board must be smart enough to have an account that has a decent interest rate?
Especially when you have the amount of money our club has sitting in the bank.
It makes sense to look for the best interest rate you can get.
So, let’s just say Celtic has an account which gives them 4% APY.
Now, I’m not saying the club has all of it’s money sitting in an interest gathering account because you also need working capital, especially at a football club.
My guess is that there are a few accounts operating, but that when the club states it has a certain figure sitting in bank, this is outside the operational account.
The club has a consistent cash flow, especially in the merchandising department.
Then once the season is underway, there is match day revenue, and all that comes with that.
So let’s just say that Celtic conservatively has £80 million sitting in an interest gathering account, right?
If the club is making 4% APY on that, in cash terms, that’s £8,791 per day in interest.
That’s £366 per hour.
It’s effectively £3,200,000 in interest per annum.
If the club was making 5% APY, that’s £4,000,000 in interest annually.
Almost £11k daily in interest.
Why, you ask, am I even discussing this?
Well, I suppose for me, I’m trying to wrap my head around why the board refuses to spend money, when the club is so good at making it?
I guess I’m wondering why we’re in the middle of a transfer window where we have not even spent potentially the amount we make in interest annually on incoming player transfers?
And that includes the imminent arrival of Shin Yamada from Kawasaki Frontale.
Ultimately, I’m trying to make sense of it all.
Because I just can’t understand it.
Across the city, the Ibrox club is beefing up it’s squad with big players.
By any metric, they have outspent us thus far.
Its hard to know what they’ve spent exactly, but conservatively, it looks to be between £10 to £11 million.
So far at Celtic, we have spent, inclusive of the arrival of Shin Yamada, £2.7 million.
Yes, you read that correctly.
£2.7 million.
Potentially £1.3 million less than we make in interest on our cash in the bank.
Once again, I’m only guessing at the interest rate we make, it could be higher, it could be lower.
I’m shooting somewhere in between.
The current European average is between 4% and 5%.
What we make in interest on our cash in the bank is neither here nor there.
The fact that we refuse to spend it is what baffles most tuned in Celtic fans out there.
As the Ibrox club continues to spend, we watch on.
The big question here is are we taking the challenge they’re going to bring to the table seriously?
At this juncture, and based on our transfer market activity thus far, no, we are not.
That’s not to say that all of these additions they’re making are going to be overnight successes, but what it is saying is that they’re taking the challenge of dethroning us seriously.
Our board seems to think they’re incapable of seriously challenging us.
In fact it seems as if they think they represent no challenge at all.
Need I remind them that we have not beaten the Ibrox side in a 90 minute fixture since early September last year.
Whether we like it or not, they have the psychological edge over us going into this season.
They upped the ante in every game they played against us, bar the first, last season.
They did that with a mediocre group of players.
A group which they believe they have improved significantly in this current transfer window.
Yet our board continues to piss arse around when it comes to strengthening a squad that is weaker than the one that lost to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final.
Shin Yamada might be a decent striker, but he is not coming to Celtic with the kind of reputation Kyogo Furuhashi came with.
In fact, he is coming during a season where he has managed just 2 goals in the current campaign.
Granted, he had a more prolific season the previous season, but this term has left a lot to be desired.
So he isn’t arriving in Glasgow in stellar form.
Last Monday night on the Trinty Tims podcast, things got a bit heated between our commenters and ourselves.
Some in particular continuously argued in favour of our board.
Despite consistent evidence to the contrary presented by us.
I asked the question, what would it take for Celtic fans to lose it when it comes to the behaviour of our board?
Would failing to qualify for the Champions League stir up enough anger?
Would a consistent challenge from Ibrox and then losing on their patch in late August make fans angry enough to speak out?
Finally, I asked what effect losing a title to them would have with £100 million in cash reserves sitting in the bank?
Would that drive fans over the edge?
I stated that that scenario was entirely unacceptable.
Because it is unacceptable.
Now, all of these scenarios may never come to pass.
In an ideal world, we’ll qualify for the Champions League, we’ll strengthen adequately before the window shuts, and we’ll sort out Brendan Rodgers contract before the season kicks off.
But the Celtic board don’t operate in an ideal world.
They operate very much within their own insular, nepotistic, and aging world.
A world that has not changed at Celtic for the better part of this century.
And yes, while we’ve been dominant in a two horse race, we have made little or no progress in Europe since 2003 until last season’s Champions League campaign.
But I would put this question to the Happy Clappers out there.
Those members of the fanbase who are happy to just lord it over the Ibrox side.
How would you feel if this board’s inaction, and refusal to back the manager, took that joy away from you?
Because at this moment in time, on the 16th of July, we have spent less than we earn in annual interest on player transfers.
We have spent less on player transfers than we pay in corporation tax to HMRC annually.
Do you see anything at all wrong with that picture?
Anything?
Now, as I said in last Monday’s podcast, all of that could change in the coming weeks.
I said that the board could blow our minds.
However, would you say they have a track record of doing mind blowing things?
I think you know the answer to that.
So, finishing up this article, I’m going to take on a glass half full attitude.
I’m going to say that our board will fulfil all expectations before this window closes.
Why?
Because I have to say that.
I have to say it because the alternative is unthinkable.
The alternative is that the Celtic board are actively intent on sabotaging our upcoming campaign to suit their own political agenda within the club.
Now, they couldn’t possibly do something like that, could they?
I’ll leave that to your imagination…
YouTube: A Brave Face On It
Don’t trust the board, they dont deserve it, looking at all the evidence so far we will not qualify for the champions league and will sell Maeda, the 100 million will stay in the bank and they will get a big dividend that’s what it all about
Frank is negative. The board has run the club within the top 10 in Europe. They have us in a luxurious position. Don’t spend money fuck off spent 30 million last summer window. Trust the guys who got our club to where it is now. Transfers aren’t easily when you have at least 6 top leagues offering 3/4 times the salaries people forget this
Piece of piss to sell players though, yeah??
Someone should tell these old men in grey suits two very,very important facts.
1- That shrouds do NOT come with the benefit of pockets !
2- That the,circa £80- £100m lying gathering dust in a bank account does NOT belong to them !
I’ve been advocating for over 10 years that the Celtic fanbase should be on a merchandise boycott, including match day pies,bovril, programmes,Paradise Windfall etc.
However, we enable these parasitic leeches by buying every shred of Adidas sweatshop tatt that they care to throw our way.
However, you can’t cure stupid !!!
I believe the board are deliberately trying to scunner Brendon so he will leave again they are not backing him in any way surely we could afford most of the targets that have gone to other clubs ???is Ange not found a club yet !!!!
Fans won’t give up their seats in protest because the length of the waiting list means they will never get them back.
If fans want change then the only way is to hit them in the pocket by stop buying cup tickets,champions league tickets,merchandise,food in the stadium etc.
All of those areas however are becoming more profitable year on year so there doesn’t appear to be an appetite to do this.
I believe we will sign good players before the window closes but wouldn’t surprise me if Maeda is sold to pay for it.
I am in the ever growing camp that Celtic PLC, under the control of Peter Lawwell, operates a strict ratio with incoming transfers and outgoing transfer buys. Currently between 10-20% is the understood percentage.
( Guessing – Kuhn €18m + Frimpong €6m pretty much at 10% gives you the current level/ budget for incoming transfers. Shocking! )
Let me ask you this question if I may …it’s the exact opposite of your own question ? Let’s just say for talking sake ,the year is 2012 and a Scottish football clumpany is up to its wishbone in debt ? So , how much interest would a bank with a bit of a decent reputation , charge in interest payments on a daily basis for debts accrued to around the £80 – £100 million sovs mark ? Or possibly a lot more .. we’ll never know the exact truth or figure ! Initially it would have been ‘ mates rates ‘ , but I guess those would have been altered to a much northern position of interest when things started to go ‘ nipples up ? ‘ Of course everyone and everything got shafted without a hint of Vaseline anywhere….treated and accepted as if it was a normal regular occurrence and occasion ,and standard practice, especially from the nodding poodles SMSM . Totally acceptable practices ! I’m guessing again , but I’d be confident the interest payments alone on the loans would again be millions and millions of ‘ filthy lucre ? ‘ The slight difference is that not a penny of any loan or interest was ever paid by the Govanlandia clumpany ..at any time ..just a thought ….
Lol what a load of written excrement. Why are you concerned about the amount Celtic spend? Spent £9m on Idah though your view he’s shite and waste of money. Then spend a £1m or so on a Japanese international striker, your view cheap option we should be spending millions. It doesn’t matter what the club do as you just hate the board and will constantly look for any angle to berate the club. The same club which most of the hierarchy have made the most successful club in Scotland. You would actually think Celtic had a poor season last term and won nothing and did not have a respectable European campaign.
What’s even more embarrassing is you would love some billionaire group to come in and use the club as a personal toy. Sorry but fuck that.
Who the fuck are you talking to exactly??
you do not seem to understand that quality players ready to play at top /champions league etc. do not and will not come to play in Scotland! so the days of “marquee signings ” are long gone.
With lawell in charge we will be going nowhere, all about what they screw us for every year 💯 embarrassing
So using an example of their total ineptitude in the transfer market is your excuse for them, or an example of how great you think they are?, really?. Says it all!.
So you’re using an example of their total ineptitude in the transfer market as an excuse for or defence of the board JL?.
Ps reply function seems faulty Eric.
Every other Scottish club would love to be in Celtic’s position let’s stop this bickering about the board and get behind the team
That’s the problem. We don’t have an adequate team, thanks to the board…
Hi Jon.We didn’t spend £30 million last summer.Our net spend was in single figures as we sold MOR to Brighton for £25m.Our net spend is always in single fugures.The Celtic board treat the fans with content as as l have said before we have been successful in spite of PL not because of him.Wish he had stayed retired instead of sneaking back in the back door as he left in disgrace after we lost the league.We will never have any ambition as long as he is at the helm and receives his dividends.Same goes for MN and the rest of the the CB some of whom l don’t even know.
The Celtic board will never change.They are a parsimonious pro Zionist Conservative board who do not deserve the fabulous support the club have.I see massive problems ahead this season unfortunately unless several quality players arrive soon
More I read Celtic fans comments the more i think we deserve to lose for a few decades. This is exact same scenario as when Fergus McCann was in charge, nothing but hatred !! Yet, 20-30 years later he is worshipped , same with this board, you don’t understand then say nothing !! Most fans on here will have zero saving & credit card debts !! Yet they think they know better LoL . The BOARD / OWNER is the best thing Celtic have, not a player or Brendan. It’s ok to say I don’t understand !!. How would Celtic expand stadium size, how would Celtic build Hotel, Change Leagues, the reasons for long term savings are unending . Also the most important part, don’t spend if it doesn’t make business sense. Players we want, normally don’t want to come to Scotland so we end up chasing many players, that’s normal if you are trying to attract “the best you can get”. Yes they could sign 10-15 players day 1 of transfer window BUT the quality would be LOT LESS. FFS stop being idiots, you can’t run a house without debts yet you are some financial guru !! Give it a rest
Oh, I completely understand Camden. I know exactly what this board contributes to Celtic. All this talk of hotels, stadium expansion, and changing leagues is pure fantasy, and will always remain so while this board is in place. The dream to move to the EPL died 13 years ago when the Rangers 1872 died, and believe me I know that. I know it because I have inside information on it. In fact I have a very deep and clear understanding of how this board operates, something I can assure you, you do not have. So don’t preach to me as if I know nothing. In this game, you have a thing called sources, many of which will supply you with info, but would prefer to remain anonymous. I have a few, and believe me, the info they’ve supplied me with is eye opening. So sensitive in some cases, that I just cannot discuss it. I won’t, out of respect for my sources. But when you tell me I know nothing, you’d better believe I do. And its a hell of a lot more than you know!
Same complaint ever year I honestly question if you are a Celtic supporter as I have said same complaint every year with the same outcome we win the league, improve our financial position beyond any other clubs dreams. Seems your never happy why don’t you take a trip over the other side of the city there board will give you all the ammunition to write a series of books
Celtic plc .
annual report to 2024.
interest earned 4.7 million pounds.
that pays for the academy . the electricity and lennoxtown refurb.
nonsensical to say as james does having money and not spending is the same as having no money.
our problem. the best players dont want our money
Jon you state this board have got us in the top ten clubs in Europe,it may be for hoarding money in the bank and paying themselves huge bonuses but it sure as hell ain’t on the football field,at this rate we’ll be lucky if we even qualify,and besides we may well win the next 30 SPFL titles in a row but nobody outside parochial Scotland knows or gives a shit,we are in a Mickey mouse league,that is how Celtic are seen from outsiders so I think we should be doing better in Europe,was last season a fluke because all before have been abysmal,but you carry on being a happy clapper for the board.
True Eric. Keep up the good work. HH🍀🍀
How does, @ Camden, MW1!? Know, about: other supporter’s/fan’s, finances’????