Okay, when I was at the OEKT* and stumbled over the Triodos Bank, which I’d never heard of before, since they are from the Netherlands and just recently opened a branch in Germany, I realized that while I know the main eco-fair banks in Germany, I don’t know anything about the neighbor countries.
So please tell me which eco-fair banks you know about, if you do business with them (or why not), how prominent you think they are in general in your country, and what you think of them.
What I mean with eco-fair are banks who orient their investment strategy towards ecology and social/ fairness aspects. Usually this is done with an ethics panel of experts which rate all investments (stocks, funds, companies, loans) by set criteria, and/or positive/ negative lists. So all companies that produces weapons or genetic modified food will be on the negative list, but companies that produce solar cells or work in fair trade are on the positive list.
In Germany, the big banks in this area are
the GLS bank, which is antroposophic oriented. I have a small account with them, but their rates are too low beneath the market for me for big investments
the Umweltbank (enviroment bank), which offers daily savings account about 0.5 % below the top market rate (they are currently at 1.25%, while normal Internet banks offer about 1.5-2%). I have an account there.
the Ethikbank. This is a recent founding, a clever idea of converting a Sparkasse (communal saving bank) branch in East Germany already accredited into the banking system, to an Internet Ethic bank. They are usually 0.25% below the Umweltbank, but still decent enough for daily saving to make a bit of money. I have an account there, too.
I think all three are well-known in the interested circle of Ecos, LOHAS and similar, but probably not yet outside, despite their many advertising leaflets.
Note to the Mods: I have on purpose not linked to the homepages of the banks themselves, because I do not intend for this to be in any way shape or form an endorsment for a particular bank, just a generally polling question (more personal than a google search). I hope this doesn’t run afoul of the rules.
Ecumenic Church Day, mid-may in Munich