Fri, 29 May 2009

Global alliance to promote sustainable banking

ZEIST (NNA) - The worldwide crisis in the financial sector provides the opportunity to move towards a more sustainable form of banking. That is the view of 11 banks who are the worldwide leaders in sustainable banking and who make up the Global Alliance for Banking on Values which was launched in the Netherlands earlier this year.

The banks aim to offer a socially, ecologically and economically sustainable alternative to the crisis-ridden financial markets as they exist today.

The Alliance - founded by Triodos Bank in the Netherlands, the BRAC Bank in Bangladesh, part of the BRAC Group, the globally largest microfinance institution in the world, and the ShoreBank from Chicago - includes banks from across the world, among them the German GLS Bank, XacBank from Mongolia, the Peruvian Mibanco and Banex in Nicaragua (for a full list see end of report).

Together the 11 banks dispose over assets of more than 10 billion US dollars and look after seven million customers worldwide.

Speaking at the launch of the Alliance, Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, herself a former banker and UN advisor on financial topics, praised the establishment of the Global Alliance: “I understand the Global Alliance for Banking on Values has ambitious goals, to set inspiring examples of what banking can really do. Examples that will encourage the expansion of the boundaries of mainstream finance and contribute to social innovation in the financial sector.”

“I hope this group of frontrunners will play a leading role in that task and that many will join you in your mission. I wish you all the wisdom and vision to make this Global Alliance into a starting point for connecting values to banking,” the Princess said.

To qualify for membership, each institution has to meet three criteria: that they are independent and licensed banks with a focus on retail customers; that they have a minimum balance sheet of 100 million US dollars; and that they should be committed to responsible financing and the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.

The new partnership plans to develop new ways of working, build organisations better suited to long-term sustainable thinking, and new forms of ownership and economic cooperation, Triodos Bank said in a press release.

“Unlike their enormous mainstream contemporaries, these banks are profitable, growing and crisis resistant. When it was unfashionable to do so they stuck to simple, core banking services that balance people, planet and profit,” Peter Blom, CEO of Triodos Bank, said at the launch of the Alliance.

“There’s no one single answer to the global financial crisis. There are many. But the leaders of these organisations, acting on an international stage, hold many of them. Together they are an extraordinary force for change,” he continued.

“We are increasingly dependent on each other economically, wherever we live in the world,” the press release quotes Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of BRAC, as saying.

“If we are to tackle the global problems we face, we are going to need international action to do it. We believe these banks have the potential to change the architecture of the financial world, and start delivering lasting solutions for unserved and underserved communities and sectors,” Fazle Hasan Abed said.

Mary Houghton, president of the ShoreBank Corporation, said: “We will promote responsible finance - supporting existing banks and helping to develop new ones.”

“We will lead the debate on the banking models we think could inspire profound changes in the mainstream financial industry. We won’t just talk about change, we will work together to deliver it,” she added.

End/nna/cva

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values comprises: Alternative Bank ABS, Switzerland, Banca Popolare Etica, Italy, Banex, Banco del Exito, Nicaragua, BRAC Bank and BRAC Microfinance Programme, Bangladesh, GLS Bank, Germany, Merkur Bank, Denmark, Mibanco, Banco de la Microempresa, Peru, New Resource Bank, United States, ShoreBank Corporation, United States, Triodos Bank, The Netherlands, XacBank, Mongolia.

Item: 090529-01EN Date: 29 May 2009

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