Student Finance Overview
If you buy Fairtrade goods, believe in human rights, or are concerned about climate change -
- put your money where your mouth is and open an ethical bank account too.
Financial institutions make all sorts of offers to get students through their doors, from discounts to vouchers to bags of freebies. But these short-term gestures can mask long-term issues.
How would you feel if your money was being used to prop up oppressive regimes, test cosmetics on animals or damage the environment?
What are the issues?
Before you open a new student bank account, or if you want to find out about your current bank’s green and ethical credentials, you should consider the following:
Lending
Banks don't just lend money to current account-holding customers, they also lend to large corporations, public institutions and even governments. Would you approve if your bank was lending money to a company with a poor track record on human rights or one manufacturing arms for use in war zones?
Climate Change and Environment
Financial institutions have an impact in these areas, not just in terms of who they lend to or invest in, but how they run their own operations. It is important to find out what your bank or insurance provider is doing to improve its environmental performance as a business: have they pledged to go carbon neutral for example? Or do they offer any green products to their customers?
Equal Opportunities
A lot of people believe that equal opportunity in the work place is now the norm, but there is still a massive pay gap between men and women doing the same jobs across most industries, including finance. Also the number of women in high level positions is still significantly lower. Not only that but some companies’ equal opportunities policies don’t take other key issues like sexuality and disability into consideration.
Financial Exclusion
There are an estimated two million adults in the UK without even the most basic bank account. Is your bank doing anything to address this situation?
For more details see our Financial Exclusion section.
Responsible Credit
Does your bank, credit card provider or insurance company take care to appropriately target and market its products? Does it offer assistance to customers in financial difficulty? Some credit card providers may not treat their customers responsibly – issuing cards to people who’ll struggle to make their repayments and not offering help to those who do fall behind.
What are the ethical options?
There are a few banks, building societies and insurance companies with well-recognised green and ethical credentials. The examples listed below for banking and saving also scored the highest marks on ethical lending in our research:
Banking
- The Co-operative Bank: this institution provides student banking, insurance and credit cards facilities and has an ethical lending policy that extends across all its business operations.
- Smile: this internet arm of the Co-operative Bank and also offers student accounts.
Saving
- Triodos: this bank offers green and ethical savings accounts. Its commercial lending is primary to green businesses.
- Ecology: this mutual building society offers a range of green savings accounts and mortgage options and its commercial lending is mainly to small, green businesses.
Insurance
- Co-operative Insurance
Insurance type: home, motor, life and health
This company offers a wide range of insurance products and has an extensive ethical engagement policy governing who it will provide cover to. - Climate Sure
Insurance type: travel
Climate Sure calculates the CO2 produced by flying overseas and pays for it to be 'offset' by funding sustainable energy projects. - Green Insurance Company
Insurance type: motor
This provider aims to offset your car's carbon emissions and offers discounts on greener cars/lower mileage. - Naturesave
Insurance types: home, travel, personal accident and illness insurance
This company puts 10% of its personal insurance premiums in a fund (Naturesave Trust) to benefit environmental and conservation projects. It also offers a free environmental performance review for commercial clients and aims to use suppliers that support sustainable business practices.
Credit Cards
Before signing up to a card you should check out the ethical credentials of its provider. Visit our credit card section for more information.
Your next steps
See our Next Steps Guide - Student Finance for information on finding the best green and ethical service provider for you, how to switch accounts and how contact your bank or insurance company about their policies.
Student Finance Search
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Bank of Ireland UK
Green/Ethical Products
Basic Cash Account and Basic Bank Account.
Bank of Ireland provides a range of products and services to personal customers who wish to invest in their properties to make them more energy efficient. In addition to the Green Business Loan, the bank is partnering with a number of enterprises in this sector to provide additional support for customers. For personal customers it offers the Electric Ireland Loan and the Green Energy Loan, which provide options for consumers who wish to reduce energy consumption in their homes.
Ethical Lending or Insurance
No policy was found to indicate that Bank of Ireland UK avoids lending to or insuring companies that directly contribute to human rights violations.
Bank of Ireland UK’s parent company Bank of Ireland has a process in place that allows them to deal with areas of concern on a case-by-case basis. In such circumstances, issues are referred to their Corporate Responsibility Committee for its decision. This approach to doing business has been adopted by the Group Executive Committee (GEC) and they review its effectiveness on an on-going basis.
There is no indication of what the criteria is for referral or to what parts of the business the process applies to.
http://www.bankofireland.com/about-bank-of-ireland/corporate-responsibility/overview/
Human Rights
No policy was found to indicate that Bank of Ireland UK avoids lending to or insuring companies that directly contribute to human rights violations.
Financial Exclusion
- In the UK, the bank offers basic cash accounts for low-income customers and the bank offers free banking for students and over 60s.
- Bank of Ireland UK’s parent company Bank of Ireland has engaged with a number of third level institutions and third parties to design and develop unsecured loan products tailored to the specific needs of undergraduate and postgraduate students.
- In line with Central Bank of Ireland guidelines, Bank of Ireland launched a range of new product features that will allow much greater numbers of customers in negative equity to move home.
No evidence that the company provides direct financial support to or engages in partnership with Credit Unions and CDFI’s (Credit Development Finance Institutions).
The bank has set up a Migrant Worker Initiative (translation of 10 key product/service brochures and a welcome pack upon opening an account available in foreign languages such as Polish, Russian and Chinese); a Polish Telephone Line (providing advice on all products and services to Polish-speaking customers), and the bank has recruited foreign language speakers in key branches in order to better serve the needs of migrant customers.
No evidence found of Bank of Ireland UK’s involvement in any microfinance or microinsurance projects.
No evidence found that the company invests in or lends at lower rates to financially excluded communities.
Environment
Bank of Ireland UK’s parent company Bank of Ireland environmental policy covers the key areas of climate change, energy efficiency, waste management and water use.
The Parent company states that it is committed to a process of continuous improvement of environmental performance through:
- Implementing a policy by setting objectives and targets and developing environmental programmes
- Measuring environmental performance on an on-going basis and using this information to regularly review policy, objectives, targets and the allocation of resources
- Educating and training employees involved in both operations and lending in order to help them consider the environment in all aspects of their work
- Encouraging, guiding and supporting staff to act in accordance with this Group Environment Policy
- Working with suppliers and sub-contractors to minimise their environmental impacts
- Reviewing environmental risks associated with lending
- Auditing and monitoring operational environmental risks and reviewing practices where necessary
Carbon Neutral
No commitment to become fully carbon neutral was found.
Equal Opportunities
No information found on the company’s diversity policy.
Women on the Board
No clear information for UK board.
1/9 women hold top UK Retail management positions.
For parent company:
1/10 women hold top level board positions (10%).
Student Banking
The bank offers a Student Current Account and Graduate Current Account.
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
The bank is a member of Business in the Community (a business-led charity focused on promoting responsible business practice).
Charitable Giving
Through Give Together, its community giving initiative, Bank of Ireland; employees have been involved in raising more than €2.9M for a wide range of causes during 2012. In addition over 400 volunteer days have been taken to support those causes. Since its Give Together initiative commenced in 2007 its staff have been involved in raising almost €20M for over 1500 causes.
the Bank’s charity of the year partnership with Make A Wish has raised €450,000 and 70 wishes being granted to children living with life-threatening illnesses. The Bank reports that the partnership with Make A Wish will continue through 2013.
Bank of Ireland UK
- Current Accounts
- Savings
- Credit Cards
- Investments
- Mortgages (Through Bank of Ireland Mortgages)
- Loans
- Insurance (Through Bank of Ireland Mortgages) (Technology & Entertainment, Personal Items, Garden, Accidental Damage, Home Emergency, Legal Expenses).
- Student Current Account (Through http://www.mystudentbank.com).(Current Accounts, credit cards, insurance).
Bank of Ireland UK
Bank of Ireland (UK) plc.
Registered Office:
Bow Bells House,
1 Bread Street,
London
EC4M 9BE.
