Ethical Banking

A BROKEN BANKING SYSTEM

If there's two words that struggle to coexist together in the same space and at the same time, it's 'banks' and 'ethics'.

For the longest time, the high street bank was seen as a place to keep our savings safe with interest, as a reliable institution where you could get financial support for a home or business investment and perceived overall as a responsible establishment, entrusted with the upkeep of a community, the economy and wellbeing of it's investors.

However, banking has suffered a a major identity crises, becoming all the more prominent during the 2008 sub-prime mortgage scandal and consequential credit crunch recession which followed. The face of banking has changed, but how did they become so morally bankrupt?

The roles of banks to safeguard money and the supreme trust that is bestowed upon them by the public, to uphold that role in safeguarding our money, has been further damaged over the last ten years. With all the damning reports on hand, such as the PPI mis-sell scandal, foreign exchange and Libor fixing plus leaked information about disproportionate pay/bonus schemes for the banking elites, as well as the many other non-ethical and crocked goings-on within the banking/finance sector, which are all available to investigate, learn about and share via the internet – it's no wonder we're so saturated with reasons to mistrust and dislike the banks.

Money is, as ever, at the heart of the world's problems, with greed being the driving force. Unfortunately, with human nature – it's always been this way and always will be. Worse still, it appears there's no way to remove money from corruption, because money brings power and power ultimately, corrupts all. And because money also determines value (goods/products and services), we have continued to base our perception of 'worth' on money and not on our actual 'values' – ie. the health of our people and sustainability of our planet.

But maybe there is a way...

Make The Switch
What if we take the blame away from the banks? After all, we've been witness to all the dodgy goings on – even though they've been clearly communicated to us in the mainstream media for many years. It's no secret. So why have the banks continued to invest in and fuel wars, foster nuclear weapons development and finance fracking?

It's because we haven't questioned the operations or put enough pressure on these massive financial institutions to deliver ethical banking solutions. 

Banks are focussed on growth which is the capitalist model, and increasing their share value is of paramount importance to them. But if we invest in banking shares, we are even more complicit in continuing this vicious cycle. Therefore, we are all involved and it's our collective greedy, money-focussed mind-state which needs to change.

It just takes a moment for us to stop and consider where our actions and the impact of our decisions (however small), are collectively contributing to the demise of civilisation (or one would hope) are more preferably, playing a role in it's improvement and future development.

Nothing in terms of banking reform, has really moved forward since 2008 and with fears of another crises delaying much needed regulations being put in to place, we are still in the same poor situation today. A too big to fail mentality, has allowed banks and their management – who have seemingly gotten away without punishment, to continue taking disgustingly disproportionate salaries and bonuses, whilst laying off their staff and simultaneously shutting down high street branches across the UK.

It we can't regulate the banks properly or hold accountable these powerful institutions, when they are clearly at fault, what kind of message does that put out to the public? It's little wonder that many have made no attempts to foster change themselves. What's the point if the FSA has no teeth to intervene? Clearly, we cannot rely on our regulators or government to make amends – it's all up to us!

We have more power to influence change than we realise.

Switching banks shouldn't just be based on customer service records, banking products or interest rates. These banking institutions always insure they have the loveliest people working at the front line. They are the face of the bank and yet they mostly have no idea what the bank does, how ethical or 'good' the bank is – and from my experience, are entirely clueless about how much their CEO earns in relation to their meagre customer services manager salaries – which according to Glass Door, is around £34.5k – so around a 237:1 ratio at Barclays, based on the £8.2m salary and renumeration package Jes Staley was getting in 2015.

The unfairness in pay ratios within the banking sector is just one factor to consider when switching, but more importantly, it's having an awareness about the companies which the banks are investing in.

Investigate those companies which cause misery and death to people and destruction to the environment – ie. those who provide weapons for conflict in Syria and Palestine – and you will be surprised to see how much support these companies get. War clearly is a safe investment – as long as the wars continue. If you currently bank with HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, Barclays or Santander – the major high street UK banks, then you are inadvertently funding non-ethical banking practices, projects and institutions. Your banks are already heavily involved with supporting fossil fuels – which is already known to cause climate change. Read the report here. This report on fossil fuels alone should sound the alarm bells and prompt action from you to question your bank's morals.

Support The Good Guys
Good banks are those that promote transparency, have a clear purpose other than to make money/profits or grow their business.They focus on beneficial solutions and while also providing a convenient and effective banking service, assure us that our money will be creating a better future, for example: through investments they make in renewable energy projects, organic farming and sustainable housing. Triodos bank seems to fit the bill. 

Cause & Effect
Karma is the principle law stating that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, controlling the destiny of all living entities. Everything is karma – everything we do is based on our decisions to act. Positive actions create reactions to potentially benefit all of us – that's certainly something to consider on all levels – and not just banking...

There's a lot of distractions in the world today; untruths mixing with truths, hidden hands and powerful entities pulling the strings and the wrong people making the poorest decisions. The 1% and power elite are getting even richer and more powerful through our apathy. One could wallow in defeatist acceptance of this fact or we can make a conscious decision today to stand up and act – creating a small ripple of change...

The smallest step we make, can have the greatest impact on everybody's future – and it's something we can easily take today. We merely need to focus attention on where the money is being invested and simply make a decision about which direction our karmic footsteps will be taken in. Then act on that decision.

Here's What Steps To Take
Write to your bank and ask them what their policies are on ethical banking, make enquiries about transparency for revealing who they invest in/with and how they manage fair-pay salary/renumeration ratios. Demand that they write back to you with some valid reasons why you should stay with them. 

New pay-ratio and company ethics regulations are coming in to play in the UK from January 2019. Organisations over 250 people will have to declare renumeration and the pay ratios taken from the mean average wage, measured against the top-earners. When I called Lloyds and HSBC, the customer services teams had no information on this scheme and there are no sections on their website which talked about their company ethics, mission statements or any access to their annual reports or company policies.

I have had no reply from Barclays as yet and although First Direct customer services were very keen to help me (awarded No.1 for customer service, apparently), they were unable to justify why I should bank with them without providing me any knowledge on who they invest with. In fact, none of these major UK banks, it appears, are even considering their environmental and ethical impact! I find that shocking but it also highlights their arrogance towards customers and ignorance of the status quo. Most banks, perhaps now too big, are not even aware of their local – let alone their global impact – and are drifting further out of touch. Therefore, it's up to us to pull them back in to line, help and guide them in the right direction.

We clearly don't complain enough, so by writing to our banks today, we will help to elevate the public's concerns, spread the message to it's workers about these issues and through enough pressure from the public, encourage the banks (if they want to retain our custom), to reform their businesses without further delay.

Making A Splash 
My decisions for karmic direction have now manifested in actions – and I encourage you all to make your own ripples for positive change.

I have written to the major UK high street banks, called their customer services people and put forward my enquiries. I await their replies.

The conclusion is to temporarily stay with First Direct with my current account (while I wait the outcome of my investigations into their banking policies) and today I have opened up a savings account with Triodos, who I feel will be putting my money to far better use.

Now knowing I will be playing my small part in helping new greener and ethical projects/businesses to grow, I'm sure this will also motivate me to save more money with my new bank of choice too.

If you would like to see how an ethical bank does it's business, visit this Triodos page and download the key figures pdf at the bottom of the section.