Banca Popolare Etica / Italy
Mission
Banca Popolare Etica was created in 1999 by a big coalition of the major italian social organizations who wanted to create a place where savers, driven by the common desire of a more transparent and responsible management of financial resources, may meet socio-economic initiatives, inspired by the values of a sustainable social and human development.
Short History
The bank´s roots are to be found in the third-sector organisations, of voluntary work and of international cooperation. The first experience of ethically oriented finance in Italy is represented by the MAG cooperative societies (self-management mutual associations). Their traditional aim is to raise savings among their members and to finance socially oriented projects. Pushed by some new legal rules in the 1990s, some of the organizations involved in the ethically oriented finance initiated a fundraising campaign in December 1998 in order to obtain a banking license. This was the first time that a banking institution, with the purpose of operating exclusively in sustainable and alternative finance, filed a request and obtained such an authorisation in Italy. In March 1999, Banca Etica opened its first branch office in Padova. It has grown to 12 agencies, with 30 ambulant bankers and almost 200 co-workers. Since 2002 the volume of savings and deposits more than doubled, the loan portfolio has quadrupled, and the net profit increased substantially between 2004 and 2007. Profits suffered a decrease in 2008 because of the fast and unpredictable decrease of official interest rates, nevertheless during the finacial and economic crisis Banca Etica has seen a considerable increase in the volumes of costumer deposits and loans.
Structure
Banca Etica has the legal form of a popular banking institute and is characterised by the principle of, so called, shareholder supremacy: when voting, all shareholders have the same power, regardless of the number of shares owned, according to the principle ‘one person, one vote’. Today, the bank counts on 60 local shareholder groups resulting in more than 30,000 shareholders.
Board of Management
- Ugo Biggeri (President)
- Mario Crosta (General Manager)
Market focus, products and services
Products and services include savings accounts, current accounts, debit and credit cards, affinity cards with organisations like Amnesty International, payment services and online banking.
Typically, Banca Etica´s focus is financing organisations operating within the third-sector that carry out civil society oriented economic projects, having the legal form of cooperative societies, associations or social institutions.
Bank contact details
Website: www.bancaetica.it
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