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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Clydesdale Bank
Green/Ethical Products
- ReadyCash Account (Basic Bank Account)
- Agribusiness Program for rural farmers and businesses
Ethical Lending or Insurance
Clydesdale Bank’s parent company, National Australia Bank, states that the group should avoid lending to certain industry sectors. For example:
- pornography, arms dealing and testing on animals
- non-government regulated gambling
The NAB website states that the Group’s lending and investment policies and processes reflect its beliefs and behaviours, changing regulatory requirements, approach to risk management and commitment to meeting voluntary standards, such as the Equator Principles.
According to the Clydesdale Bank’s parent company, National Australia Bank, credit and risk managers in corporate and business banking units oversee credit quality and provide on-the-job training to bankers so that they can properly apply the environmental risk policy. This system applies to Clydesdale Bank.
Furthermore, the group is required to screen general credit applications to see if the environmental credit policies should be applied. They are applied if the lending has the potential to involve environmental risks due to:
- the nature of the industry in which the borrower is involved;
- the location or nature of the property owned by the borrower; and
- any adverse comment made by a valuer in regard to an environmental risk.
Each of the businesses within the NAB Group are also required to develop and maintain an environmental risk assessment checklist to guide their bankers through the environmental credit risk assessment process. These checklists are updated as required to reflect changing regulatory requirements and regional operating contexts.
The environmental risk assessments include understanding:
- customers’ current operations;
- historical uses of a customers’ sites;
- customers’ environmental practices, management systems and compliance records;
- risk of liability transfer in regard to environmental issues;
- nature of any licences, permissions or consents held by a customer;
- outcomes of any previous site investigations, environmental surveys or audits; and
- community concerns in relation to the customer's operations
The assessment may also include expert third-party reports, environmental impact assessments and site visits. This may result in the inclusion of covenants in lending contracts with annual reviews.
For projects in all other countries, the Group applies International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank safeguard policies (as a minimum). It applies these policies, regardless of the monetary value of the project, if there are concerns that environmental habitats, Indigenous peoples and community rights may be at risk. Its internal standards require an environmental impact assessment for all projects financed by the group. Click here for more information.
Human Rights
No policy was found to indicate that Clydesdale Bank lending to or insuring companies that directly contribute to human rights violations.
Financial Exclusion
The bank offers a basic bank account (Readycash) for low-income customers and credit card debt management for personal customers in financial difficulty. It also offers personal insurance for terminal/critical illness and disability.
No evidence that Clydesdale Bank provides direct financial support to or engages in partnerships with Credit Unions and CDFIs (Community Development Finance Institutions).
In 2008, NAB announced that it was providing Traditional Credit Union Limited (TCU) with interest free loans of up to $1 million (with no fees or charges) to fund the opening of branches in remote locations in the Northern Territory of Australia, providing access to financial services for more than 3,250 Indigenous customers, in the next five years.
However, no information has been provided since 2008.
According to its website, Clydesdale Bank provides:
- Braille, large print or audio formats for statements, documents, and information packs
- Where possible, ATMs positioned for wheelchair accessibility
- An accessibility programme for continued branch access improvements
- Accessible website features
- Branches with ramps and/or wheelchair lifts where necessary, low level counters, counters with a hearing induction loop, and interview rooms accessible for wheelchair users
- Talking ATMs
There is no evidence that Clydesdale Bank participates in microfinance.
Clydesdale Bank’s parent company, National Australia Bank, is partnered with Good Shepherd, State and Federal Governments and other community agencies, and has been developing microfinance solutions to help address financial exclusion and to help all financially disadvantaged Australians. National Australia Bank Microfinance helps low-income families buy basic household items such as refrigerators and avoid paying more than they should.
The National Australia Bank provides maintains the Microenterprise Loan program to support individuals who wish to start up or grow a business but who have limited access to capital. These unsecured loans of between $500 and $20,000 are provided on a not-for-profit basis and loan recipients get access to business skills training and advice during the first year of their business.
There is no evidence that Clydesdale Bank lends at lower rates to poor/financially excluded communities.
National Australia Bank provides the following loan programmes:
- No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) offers small, no interest loans for people on low incomes for the purchase of essential household goods
- StepUp loan programme offers personal, unsecured loans for individuals or families to buy essential personal, household, or domestic goods at a basic interest rate of 3.99% p.a. Recipients are ‘mentored’ by a microfinance worker throughout the loan process and repayment period.
- AddsUp programme is a matched savings plan that focuses on helping people living on low incomes develop financial independence through savings. AddsUP is open to people who have successfully repaid their NILS or StepUP loan and once $500 is saved within a 6 to 12 month period, National Australia Bank will “once-off” match every dollar making that a total savings of $1000.
Click here for more information.
Environment
National Australia Bank Group Environmental Policy, which includes Clydesdale operations, covers the key areas of climate change, energy efficiency, water use and waste management.
According to the National Australia Bank Group’s Environmental Policy, the Group Environmental Committee is responsible for leading management in respect to the three pillars of the Group’s Environmental Agenda. This includes providing oversight in relation to environmental culture (engagement and awareness), integrated environmental governance processes and environmental strategy, risks and performance (which includes consideration of climate change, resource efficiency and natural value strategy, risks and opportunities).
The company is committed to continued improvement of its environmental performance.
The National Australia Bank Group is committed to:
- being a leading financier of renewable energy development;
- building capability in servicing carbon markets; and
- offering new financial products and services with environmental benefit to meet growing consumer demand.
Business opportunities, such as the provision of environmental products and services, are identified and prioritised through the strategic planning process both at the Group and business line level.
NAB Group’s commitment to managing the business's environmental footprint is guided by its Group Environmental Policy, which is part of its plan for long-term growth.
The Group Environmental Policy can be found here.
Carbon Neutral
The National Australian Group became carbon neutral in 2010.
Click here for more information.
Equal Opportunities
Clydesdale Bank’s parent company, National Australia Bank Group’s has an equal opportunities policy that takes into consideration the key equality issues of race, gender, age, sexual orientation and disability.
A list of NAB Goup’s diversity initiatives can be found here.
Some initiatives include:
Women on the Board
2/12 women hold top level board positions (16.7%)
Student Banking
Student Current Account
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
Clydesdale Bank abides by the 'The Lending Code', a voluntary code which sets the standard for good banking practice.
The National Australian Bank Group is a member of or signatory to the following relevant charter or initiatives:
- 2ºC Communiqué
- Natural Capital Declaration
- Australian Government’s FluoroCycle Scheme
- United Nations Global Compact
- Equator Principles
- Carbon Disclosure Project- Investor, Reporter Services and Supply Chain
- CDP Water Disclosure Project
- United Nations Environment Programme for Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
- Water Stewardship Australia
- Sustainable Business Network NZ
- New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Sustainable Business Australia
The National Australian Bank Group abides by the following:
- OECD Guidelines for Multi National Enterprises
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The Australian Code of Banking Practice
Charitable Giving
In the last five years, Clydesdale Bank has raised over £2.5million for its Charity Partner, Help the Hospices.
In addition, Clydesdale Bank has supported Count Me In 123, a numeracy programme for children age 5 and under.
The National Australia Bank Group works with the MLC Community Foundation, a charitable trust which was established in September 2008 with a mission to improve mental health outcomes for all Australians. The group has invested $4.5 million over the last five years in grants towards this cause.
Clydesdale Bank
- Current Accounts
- Savings
- Credit Cards
- Loans
- Mortgages
- Insurance (Home, Motor, Travel, Life, Over 50s Life, Critical Illness)
- Student Current Account
