Powys Green Guide

What to look for in a Bank

When choosing a bank account look particularlly at where it is investing its (your) money - does it fund the arms trade, does it finance climate change - and does it pay its fair share of tax.

The Best of the Better Known Banks

Triodos is a leader in transparency in its lending and operations, and its positive investment strategy is 'market leading'. There is a £3 monthly fee for a current account.

Other banks that do well and don't have a monthly fee are:

Nationwide - also offers credit cards
Cumberland Building Society
Co-operative Bank (including the Smile brand) - also offers credit cards

Which Banks are investing in fossil fuels?

According to Ethical Consumer, the following banks are "massive financiers of fossil fuels and have been linked to multiple human rights abuses."

HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan, First Direct, and Chase.

They go on to say that these banks have also been criticised: Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, NatWest, RBS, Coutts, Ulster Bank, Santander, Cater Allen.

Go to the Ethical Consumer page to read more about other banks here.

A Better Way of Banking

The Community Savings Bank Association (CSBA)

The Community Savings Bank Association (CSBA) states that they exist to

" "rebuild a network of independent, local banks in the UK. For the first time in the UK, those banks will be owned by and answerable to their customers."

Regional banks, which would use local savings to create local loans, storing and safeguarding the wealth of the region in the good times to be available to help in the hard times - and the Welsh Government is backing this vision.

We believe that mutual trust is fundamental to a long-term partnership between us and our bank... to act benevolently for them and to demonstrate consistently high levels of competence in what it does and how it does it."

Banc Cambria - Wales' own customer-owned bank - coming soon

In 2021, the Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said:

"Our vision for the Community Bank for Wales is one that is based on the mutual model, owned by, and run for, the benefit of its members, rather than the maximisation of profit for shareholders. It will be a modern, full service community bank, headquartered in Wales, providing access to bilingual products and services, through a range of channels including digital, online and in-branch.

The Bank will facilitate local investment and enhance community wealth-building, recirculating savings into loans and preventing capital drain. We very much hope it will provide a positive impact on communities and high streets across Wales, improving access to everyday banking services for all citizens regardless of income or wealth, as well as for small businesses across the whole of Wales."

The aim is to provide everyday full retail banking services in communities across Wales by 2023. To see the full article, visit this page If you want to dive deeper, you can download "The Case for a community bank for Wales - Banc Cambria" here. If you would like to show your support for this proposal visit www.csba.co.uk/local-bank/

Blockchain Currencies

Blockchain is an innovative payment network that is entirely digital - a new kind of money. Bitcoin first used in 2009, and was the original blockchain currency. Other blockchain currencies followed, such as Etherium and Litecoin.

Benefits of the Blockchain Payment Network

Those who support blockchain currencies consider its many advantages to be that they are:

decentralised, as there is no 3rd party processing
free from regulations - there is no-one to block or freeze your account
effective, low cost payment systems
Open Source and transparent
have value in the 'real world' to buy goods and services
deflationary - the system was designed to be deflationary

The Dark Downside of the Blockchain Payment Network

This is a pretty clever invention. You don't need to put your money into banks that may be spending it on drilling for oil, gas, fracking or using unethical employments practices.

However, https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/transport-travel/shopping-guide/cars-electric-cars says,

"Bitcoin has an eye watering carbon footprint – a recent academic estimate put it at comparable with Greece, which, per transaction, works out at about 0.6 tonnes, or 6% of the average yearly UK per capita carbon footprint."

That is an incredible carbon footprint - in less than 17 transactions you can spend the whole of your annual one-planet carbon allowance without doing anything else!

One bitcoin 'mine' created a huge hydroelectric dam - just to run the one 'mine'.

Now immersion cooling is being used, but don't be fooled, they won't be using any less power, it is more likely to help expansion.

Page last modified: 05 Dec 2022, 18:25

The Powys Green Guide has received funding from the Mid Wales Community Energy Trust to cover website support and maintenance in Montgomeryshire

This project is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund
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