After the financial collapse and in the midst of a tremendous crisis of confidence in the system, a new way of understanding the economy is making its way and offers a solid alternative to speculation and fierce competition. Ethical banking invests in the real economy, and supports projects committed to society, culture and the environment.
Many people worry about taking ecological attitudes, they are supportive and dedicate part of their time to collaborate with NGOs and citizen associations. Meanwhile, their money is in the hands of banks that invest in socially irresponsible companies that favor the arms trade and real estate speculation.
Financial entities, for example, participate in the arms business in different ways: they acquire shares, finance exports, and grant credits and loans to arms companies. In this way, the banks are not only accomplices, but without their financial support the arms business would be practically unviable. The Armed Banking platform, formed by the Center for Peace Studies, Setem and the Globalization Debt Observatory, promotes awareness-raising and reporting actions and issues periodic reports that identify the banks that collaborate with the production of weapons.
You decide who you support with your money
Although it may not seem like it, and more so in these times, the words’ banking ‘and ethics’ are not incompatible terms. A bank can invest the money of its clients in projects and companies that respect the environment, promote the labor dignity of its workers and improve people’s quality of life. When, instead of an arms manufacturing company, a bank decides to grant a loan to a company that markets ecological products and employs people at risk of social exclusion, this entity makes an ethical choice. And this bank, like the people who deposit their savings in it, is betting on peace, on the conservation of the environment and on respect for people . This bank is building a different society, perhaps the society that many of us dream of.
I want to switch to ethical banking!
One of the most consolidated ethical banking entities in Europe is Triodos Bank , which was born in the Netherlands in the 1960s and has been operating in our country since 2004. It has offices in numerous Spanish cities and all procedures can be carried out over the internet and online. telephone. Most of their accounts offer the possibility of donating all or part of the interest to different social organizations.
Fiare Banca Ética goes a little further and incorporates principles of horizontality in its organization. Thus, each person is a vote , and everyone has the same weight in making decisions, regardless of the amount of money they have invested in the project.
This organization was born from the union of Banca Popolare Etica, a cooperative bank that has worked in Italy since 1999, and Fiare, which has been operating in Spain since 2005. It already has more than 37,000 members and offers its Ethical Account for individuals that manage through the internet, as well as debit and credit cards and the possibility of time deposits and other investment products.
Financed projects: environment, culture and social integration
Koopera Store is one of the latest projects financed by Fiare Banca Ética. It is an initiative that seeks the social-labor insertion of people in a situation or risk of social exclusion and, in addition, applies circular economy principles since it recovers tons of used clothing and recycles or sells them in its second-hand stores.
Eduvic is a non-profit social initiative cooperative specialized in the care of children, adolescents and families at risk of exclusion. They are currently promoting another area of work, which has received funding from Fiare Banca Ética, which has its origin in a request to manage educational projects related to extracurricular sports activities.
Another group that Fiare supports is Initiatives of Alternative and Solidarity Economy (IDEAS) , an Andalusian cooperative that promotes fair trade and develops awareness activities in Spain.
One of the projects financed by Triodos Bank is the Golden Age Association, Messengers of Peace, which currently manages 30 centers for the elderly with about 1,300 places. In addition, the association has created the Golden Telephone to facilitate communication between the elderly who live alone and a central operator staffed by volunteers. The financial institution also supports numerous projects related to the environment, such as the Sierra Subbética Cheese Factory, which since 1995 has been producing artisan and organic cheeses with milk from goats raised on organic farms.
Culture also has a place in the world of ethical banking. The Dédalus Cine association is made up of a group of film, theater, journalism and advertising professionals that organizes the Albacete Abycina Film Festival, the Albacete Woman Film Festival, as well as various programs to promote the culture of short films. among the youngest.
The alternative in times of crisis
According to the study ‘ Ethical and Sustainable Finance in Europe ‘, conducted by the Ethical Finance Foundation (Ethical Banking), in the last ten years, European states have spent approximately 750,000 million euros in rescuing numerous banks from bankruptcy. However, none of the ethical banks present on the continent has had to be rescued , since these entities grant credits, as we have seen, only to initiatives of the so-called ‘real economy’, which do not speculate and which also follow social and environmental
According to this report, in the last ten years analyzed (2007-2017), ethical and sustainable banks have performed more than triple that of traditional banks. The report warns, on the other hand, that despite these figures, there have not been profound reforms in the operation of the banking system and that certain pressure groups still weigh too heavily in political decisions that affect finances.
Although the European Commission has launched a sustainable finance action plan, the report warns that this reform project has great shortcomings. “ The financial sector runs the risk of undermining public confidence by officially labeling financing activities and investments that are not ‘green’ ,” Mikel García-Prieto, CEO of Triodos Bank in Spain, also points out in an opinion column recently published in Cinco Días.
What is clear is that ethical banking is increasingly accessible and, in addition to offering all the services of traditional banking, it guarantees transparency and trust to its clients. And it shows that, indeed, another bank is possible.
