Banking on values

With recent headlines about greed and corruption in banks, and about banks spending taxpayers’ bailout money on executive bonuses and expensive office renovations, where are the signs of hope for the economy?  Are banks destined to lead Western society (and the world) down the slippery slope to economic disaster?

While the banking news that makes the headlines is bleak, signs of hope in banking have been growing behind the scenes.  Recently, the Triodos Bank in the Netherlands announced a new Global Alliance for Banking on Values.  Inspired by the “Banking on Values” orientation of Boston’s Wainwright Bank, the Global Alliance draws together banks from around the world that have been operating on a sustainable model of banking for decades.

In announcing the Global Alliance, Peter Blom, chair of the executive board of the Triodos Bank, remarked to the assembled bankers,

"These days people rarely associate the terms 'banking' and 'values.'  When people ask what you do for a living, just to answer 'banking' is not enough.  You can read on people’s faces, 'Are you one of them?'"

He went on to hold up a vision of banking that serves communities, a tried and true vision that contrasts sharply with the model of banking that has dominated western culture for the past twenty years:

"Banking is a noble profession.  It is about enabling, about nurturing trust, about bridging, about being the honest intermediary, about building relationships.  It is not an ordinary business.  It represents a core function in society.  A banker has always played a key role in building communities, not just financing businesses and making money."

While the large banks of the world have focused recently on short-term gain and risky speculation, the banks of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values have focused on long-term sustainability.  The short-term approach has now proven glaringly disastrous.  Fortunately, there is another model for the world to see, a model that has been operating quietly behind the scenes all the while (and incidentally, a model that, for most of the history of banking, was understood to be what banking was all about).

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values draws together banks as diverse as Shore Bank in Chicago (a bank committed to community development), BRAC Bank in Bangladesh (a leader in microfinance), and GLS Bank in Germany (a bank focused on education, the environment, and non-profits).  All twelve Global Alliance banks have made a commitment to both profitability and partnerships in their communities.  And all twelve have proven to be remarkably solid while banks around them collapse.

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values is a bright spot in the midst of the current banking crisis.  May the banks of the world have eyes to see the vision of the Global Alliance and (re)turn to this model of banking before it’s too late.

(If you enjoyed this article, check out Banking with heart and Fiddling while Rome burns and Goldman Sachs investment bank held accountable for subprime lending.)

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Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of Soul at Work and The Soul of a Leader works with leaders in healthcare, business, churches, government and non-profits to help them stay true to their souls. Visit her website.

© Copyright 2009 by Margaret Benefiel.