The annual customer value analysis shows that, in 2003, up to 30 per cent of the bank’s £130.1m profits can be attributed to the bank’s ethical and sustainability policies, compared with 24 per cent last year.
This increase has resulted from an increasing number of loan accounts and Visa credit card accountholders joining for ethical reasons, coupled with a better understanding of customers recruited because of the bank’s co-operative heritage.
Whilst the bank’s stance attracts customers, the value analysis also shows that the value of the business lost to the bank due to ethical and ecological reasons was worth £6.9m at the end of 2003, compared with £4.38m the previous year.
In 2003, refusing to provide banking services to companies that supply arms to oppressive regimes lost it £709,500, compared with £242,000 the year before. The cost of turning away business for animal welfare reasons jumped from £158,000 to £556,500. Declining to do business with organisations involved in fossil fuel extraction cost the bank £512,500 in lost income compared with £1.15m the previous year.
In a year in which the bank launched a Safer Chemicals campaign with WWF-UK, the value of chemical business turned away was £445,000 compared with just £34,000 in 2002.
The bank also turned away business from companies and organisations associated with exploitative labour practices, poor human rights, poor environmental performance, tobacco and deforestation, costing a total of £647,000.
The bank’s Director of Corporate Affairs Simon Williams said: "Yet again we have proved that you can do well by doing good. These figures clearly demonstrate that, whilst our ethical stance clearly leads to lost business, the customer value analysis shows that it has a very positive impact on our overall profits.
"36 per cent of personal customers and 22 per cent of corporate and business banking customers join us precisely because we are prepared to turn away certain sorts of business."
