After browsing Vancity’s website, I no longer thought of it as “just another bank”. Having a “triple bottom line” approach to banking means that Vancity uses its $16.1 billion in assets to create economic, social and environmental well-being. Lending to and investing in local social enterprises and ventures, co-operatives, not-for-profit, etc. is how Vancity strives to “Make Good Money“. It’s banking that balances positive social change alongside financial gain. I thought, “Wow! Sustainability and CSR is in every aspect of how Vancity does business. That makes me want to bank there.”
I researched some more and found a recent report from the Global Alliance For Banking on Values, for which Vancity is a member of. The report shows that during the global economic recession, value-based banks are outperforming traditional banks on average, suggesting that the values-based model could be the answer to avoiding future recessions. Overall, the study demonstrates that “doing good is beneficial for banks not just in a theoretical and ethical sense, but also financially.”
Values-based banking is only just beginning to revolutionize the global financial system. Business schools can participate in fostering this revolution by drawing it to the attention of students. When discussing sustainability and CSR, we don’t often think about it in banks so this is a topic that can be brought up in class.