No monkey business with biofuels and apes

No monkey business with biofuels and apes

Customers at the UK's only ethically focused bank, the Co-operative Bank, have voted for a ban on lending to businesses involved with controversial biofuel developments, and any organisation involved in the exploitation of great apes.

The bank launched its ethical stance in 1992 and is unique in consulting customers about what sectors it will, or will not, lend to. A record 80,000 responded to a detailed questionnaire last autumn covering topics from human rights and animal welfare to ecology and international development.

These new pledges are the result:

• A refusal to lend to firms engaged in fossil fuel extraction has been extended to those distributing fuels with a particularly high global warming impact, particularly unconventional oil sources and certain biofuels.

Advertisement starts

---

---

Advertisement ends

• Its arms trade policy is to include the manufacture or transfer of indiscriminate weapons, such as cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions.

• Policy on animal experimentation for cosmetic or household products, is to cover activities connected with the exploitation of great apes, be it for experimentation or general commercial use. It said: "They are humans' closest living relatives, and have cognitive abilities and a degree of self-awareness not shown by other animals."

The ban does not extend to companies engaged in animal experimentation for health purposes.

The Co-Op Bank's ethical lending policy has caused it to turn away more than £1bn in business. But it claims that, overall, its ethical positioning has helped underpin a strong performance. Total commercial lending has grown from £571m in 1992 to £4.4bn in 2008, an average of 14% per year. It has reported a further 15% growth in customer lending, as well as lower bad debt charges compared to 2007. There was a 65% increase in current account opening.

"Our figures show that a third of all customers come to us as a direct consequence of our ethical policy and ethical credentials," says the bank.

This month's issue of Which? Money magazine also found that both the Co-op Bank and its internet-only arm, Smile, are among the top three for customer satisfaction.

A total of 15,000 Which? members were asked how satisfied they were with their current account, savings, mortgage and credit card providers.

Smile gained the highest score for its current account at 88%, while the Co-op Bank was the winner for savings accounts with 80%.

The top three overall scores for customer satisfaction, averaged across all products, were Smile at 87%, First Direct on 83% and the Co-op Bank with 81%.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2009