At Up Loans we have noticed that more of our clients are becoming more concerned as to how banks/lenders are using their funds and investing their money. In our conversations with many clients, we are being asked about Ethical Lenders, and while some may giggle at the idea that banks may be considered ethical – there actually are lenders that are making more ethical decisions in their choices of where to invest.
What is an Ethical Lender?
Put simply, an ethical lender is a lender who is refusing to invest in a range of harmful industries. Primarily this has been coal and fossil fuels, however it also extends to not investing in tobacco, weapons (guns or other arms) gambling, human exploitation or human rights abuses, animal cruelty etc.
But a lender could also be considered ethical for other day to day practices – such as the work practices they implement such as paperless offices, eco-friendly lighting, reinvestmenet in the local community etc.
We also see some lenders offering products to assist environmental initiatives or donating profits to charities from certain products.
In short – ethical lending is a can of worms that is really only just being popped open, and we are hoping to see more and more avenues that banks/lenders are able to explore doing business profitably but also with a conscience that strongly aligns with an ever growing ethically minded community.
This is a great discussion to have with your broker if it is important to you or if it is something you want to explore. If it is important to you, then it is important to us to help you find a bank that aligns with you. It also doesn’t necessarily mean needing to pay more, some of our lenders that tick big boxes ethically speaking are also some of our sharpest on rates.
Here is a helpful link to get some general info:
https://www.marketforces.org.au/info/compare-bank-table/
By Carrie Twine