Conscious banks meet in Melbourne to talk ‘People, planet and profit’
Glen Saunders, Prometheus Chair
In early March, 25 innovative banks from around the world met in Melbourne for their week long annual meeting. Together they form the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (www.gabv.org), and come from a wide range of countries, from Europe, North America and Australia, to Bangladesh, Paraguay and Mongolia. With a combined responsibility for over $83 billion, these 25 socially entrepreneurial banks invest in a range of social, environmental, and cultural projects in the developed world, and offer microfinance in the developing world. They are disparate in style and context, but are joined by a shared strong commitment to banking on values.
I was fortunate to be able to attend and be a panellist at their public meetings. These were lively sessions drawing many from Australia.
Two of the banks, Triodos Bank, based in The Netherlands, and GLS Bank, based in Germany, are cornerstone shareholders in Prometheus, and are keen to see Prometheus’ work in social finance develop further here in New Zealand.
Most of these banks have prospered, not struggled, through the global financial crisis. They have seen an influx of new customers seeking the safety and reassurance of banks with a focus on integrity, doing good, and financing real activities. So much so, that one of the problems these banks currently face is finding ways to use the money placed with them to continue this growth while fulfilling their purposes. Savings can shift very fast, but investment in real world projects takes time to develop and grow. It was reassuring to see how responsibly they are approaching this issue: not growth at any cost, but growth that strengthens their fundamental mission.
What is that mission? It differs in details for each one, but they all share a common belief that banking is as much about values as it is about the careful management of money, and that a triple bottom line of ‘people, planet and profit’ (that’s reasonable profit) is essential to banking.
This approach works and is growing. It was a very inspiring few days.
Glen Saunders is the Chairman of Prometheus Finance.
Prometheus is a New Zealand social finance company who offer Kiwis’ sustainable saving and loan choices. They only lend to projects with a focus on social, environmental and cultural outcomes. Read more about the projects they support at www.prometheus.co.nz
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