Values-based Banks Issue "Berlin Declaration" to Transform the Banking System

BERLIN, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a network of the world's leading sustainable banks, issued a declaration outlining how the banking system should be transformed. The sustainable banks call for a fundamental shift in how banks operate to make them more transparent, sustainable and diverse.

1. Transparency. Only with transparency can trust be restored. All banks must provide full transparency on their business models and use of client funds using common standards.
   
2. Sustainability. Banks play a critical role in the transition towards a more sustainable economy. Therefore social and ecological criteria must play a critical role in the creation and use of financial products. All banks must use indicators to report social and ecological impact which should also be used within the regulatory framework.
   
3. Diversity. The diversity of economies, cultures and community needs a diverse network of banks. Governments and regulators must include a diversity of banks as an important goal in the process of reframing regulations for the financial sector.
   

Peter Blom, Chair of the GABV and CEO of Triodos Bank: "We want to draw on the successes of groundbreaking banks around the world to develop the partnerships and genuinely innovative approaches necessary to forge a financially viable future for banking."

Thomas Jorberg, CEO GLS Bank and member of the Steering Committee of the  GABV: "To change the financial system we need a vision that takes  social and ecological impact into account when making financial decisions. This means that next to profit and risk, a banker also has to judge the social and ecological impact in the real economy."

Contact

GLS Bank    
Christof Lützel, Press Secretary    
christof.luetzel@gls.de
Tel. +491732786963    
http://www.gls.de

GABV
Thomas Steiner, Press Secretary
thomas.steiner@gabv.org
Tel. +31653488813
http://www.gabv.org

SOURCE GLS Bank