Ethical current account alternatives to Co-Op Bank?

trentsc

I've had my current account with Co-Op for nearly 15 years, and one of the key reasons for my going there was their ethical policy.

Now that the Co-Op Group has significantly reduced its shareholding in the bank and it's now for sale, I have a slight concern that I should cover my options and open up a reserve current account elsewhere in case things don't resolve themselves with Co-Op: while I know my money is protected, the potential disruption if no buyer can be found could be painful.

So, can anyone recommend a half-decent ethical bank with good online facilities?

We're not talking vast sums of money here - far, far below the guarantee thresholds.

PeacefulWaters

Nationwide would be the obvious go to option for many.

isasmurf

Its not any use to you now, but you may want to keep an eye on Triodos Bank, who will be announcing details of their current account later this month. Note that they are covered by the Dutch Deposit protection scheme.

eskbanker

Much depends on your definition of ethical, but see what takes your fancy on the configurable guide at http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/money/bankingcurrentaccounts.aspx

grumbler

>> Switching to an ethical bank - which would be right for me?
- 1 y.o. thread; dozens more old if you search.

theyellowlizard

TrentSC, I'm in exactly the same boat as you. I've registered with Triodos (see isasmurf's post) for their current account when it opens. The downside is that their account will come with a £3p/m charge - not a fortune, but it won't be free like the Co-Op's current account.

Other than that, I've been really disappointed/underwhelmed by the lack of other options available. I really wish there was a way that more high street banks could be pressured into opening ethical accounts for those customers who want them. There's clearly a market for them!

eskbanker

theyellowlizard wrote: »

I really wish there was a way that more high street banks could be pressured into opening ethical accounts for those customers who want them.

So, if a high street bank, that provides banking facilities for oil/tobacco/defence companies or whatever, decided to respond to this overwhelming public demand and opened an account and labelled it 'ethical', would that make you happy, and if so, why?

It may suit niche players like Triodos to pitch for the ethical consumer but mainstream banks are extremely unlikely to forego massive revenue streams from 'unethical' (but entirely legal) corporate businesses in order to be more appealing to a (relatively) minuscule audience, why would they do this?

theyellowlizard

eskbanker, I wasn't suggesting that high street banks divest themselves of investments in the arms trade, tobacco, nuclear power etc (much as I'd love them to). I was positing that that ethical accounts could theoretically be created by all banks whereby ethical investors don't have their own money put into such things (even if it means a lower rate of interest etc).

Anthorn

As stated earlier in this thread Triodos is launching its current account.

But:

We're taking a bold, and fairer, approach to charges on the account. We believe 'free banking' is a myth, because someone always pays. So, rather than charging excessive penalties to a minority of customers to subsidise a 'free' account, we think a fairer approach is for all customers to pay a modest monthly fee (£3) towards the costs of the banking service provided.

We will provide arranged overdrafts by request, although there will be no unarranged overdraft facility, nor the excessive charges which often accompany them.

https://www.triodos.co.uk/en/personal/current-account-registration/?gclid=CjwKEAjwpJ_JBRC3tYai4Ky09zQSJAC5r7rurCNFyDv0JKOgjP7aBdKvk93dY7wHIkbOH2hWGyW3uhoCmtvw_wcB

And

• UnpaidCheques, unpaidStandingOrders and DirectDebits £5
• The monthly cap on unarranged overdraft charges for your Triodos current account is £50. Further details can be found on our tariff of charges

https://www.triodos.co.uk/downloads/pca-what-you-need-to-know.pdf

So there are fees in addition to the £3 monthly account fee. Or aren't there?

eskbanker

theyellowlizard wrote: »

eskbanker, I wasn't suggesting that high street banks divest themselves of investments in the arms trade, tobacco, nuclear power etc (much as I'd love them to). I was positing that that ethical accounts could theoretically be created by all banks whereby ethical investors don't have their own money put into such things (even if it means a lower rate of interest etc).

But even if there was some sort of ring-fenced area for deposits into such accounts, but held by a bank that makes a large chunk of its profits from 'unethical' investments, this sort of artificial delineation surely wouldn't satisfy customers genuinely concerned about ethical matters?

theyellowlizard

eskbanker wrote: »

But even if there was some sort of ring-fenced area for deposits into such accounts, but held by a bank that makes a large chunk of its profits from 'unethical' investments, this sort of artificial delineation surely wouldn't satisfy customers genuinely concerned about ethical matters?

Well, I'd rather be with a bank who held no unethical investments at all - but my initial post above was making the point that there's really not a great choice of those at the moment. If, say, HSBC had an ethical account and I knew that none of my money was being invested unethically, I'd certainly consider that.