Faisel Rahman has a fairer way for low-income families to borrow money. Fair Finance's own rates are not cheap by conventional standards: its typical APR on a 12-month £500 loan is 53.17pc, which Rahman admits is higher than that charged by many of the big banks, but he says that this misses the point. "Many of our customers simply don't have access to the conventional banking system and so their only sources of credit are payday lenders and loan sharks," he says. It was into this void that Rahman launched Fair Finance six years ago. Backed with small grants from banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, the operation has grown quickly and now has four branches scattered across East London. But last month's two financing deals, which comprise a £1m funding package backed by French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale and a further £1m loan from Santander UK, will allow Rahman to greatly expand the size of the business.
The affect of this on some of London's poorest families could be profound. FTA In Depth: The trillion dollar question of impact investing. Impact investing is the latest investment sector tipped to soar with JP Morgan predicting it could reach inflows of $1 trillion (£620bn) in 10 years. The new asset class generates returns by investing in sub-sectors including agriculture, water, housing, education, health energy and micro-finance, notably in countries where people earn less than $2,000 annually. Boom in impact investment Dariush Yazdani, head of asset management research at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Luxembourg, claimed the impact investment market was growing with the accountancy firm fielding interest from foundations, governments and individuals.
He said: "It [impact investing] is still a nascent industry, but if you look at micro finance which is the largest part of it, that is already very large. "The Monitor Institute has stated that within 10 years the impact investing industry could grow to represent about one per cent of estimated professionally managed global assets in 2008. " Agreeing to disagree on a definition. Banks can help the financially excluded | Society. Some 4 million people borrow from lenders with very high interest rates because they do not have a credit rating with regular banks.
Photograph: EcoJoe/Alamy Solutions to financial exclusion will require the involvement of the banking sector. As public funding shrinks, the only long-term, sustainable funding available will be commercial finance. This brings its own challenges, but also the chance to make a real impact. Earlier this month, Fair Finance signed a commercial microfinance deal with two banks, believed to be a first for community finance in the UK. In the next few weeks, we will sign with a third bank for a total of £2m.
In addition, we have raised £750,000 from a group of socially minded investors who want their money back when we make a surplus and who will receive a small return for taking the risk that they may never see their money again. Arranging the financing has needed specialist help, legal support, advisers and a really strong board. Who we work with. MyBnk work with young people aged 11 to 25 in schools, colleges and youth groups. Here’s a map of all the places we’ve worked! You can zoom out and find even more… Map DataMap data ©2014 GeoBasis-DE/BKG (©2009), Google, basado en BCN IGN España Map Data Map data ©2014 GeoBasis-DE/BKG (©2009), Google, basado en BCN IGN España Map Who We Work With MyBnk Branches MyBnk International MyBnk International Istituto tecnico commerciale Molari (Italy)Italy San Lorenzo (Italy)Italy Liceo della Comunicazione Maestre Pie (Italy)Italy Istituto tecnico Commerciale Valturio (Italy)Italy Maestre Pie (Italy)Italy.
Triodos - Home. History. Pinpoint your savings - Know where your money goes - Triodos Ban. Ethical banking. An ethical bank, also known as a social, alternative, civic, or sustainable bank, is a bank concerned with the social and environmental impacts of its investments and loans. Ethical banks are part of a larger societal movement, called "Banktivism," which calls for a move towards more social and environmental responsibility in the financial sector.
This movement includes: ethical investment, socially responsible investment, corporate social responsibility, and is also related to such movements as the fair trade movement, ethical consumerism, etc. The most notable association for ethical banking is the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. Increasingly, the practice of ethical banking, or banktivism, is being taught and supported within university business schools. History[edit] Historically banks have been viewed solely as financial institutions, which should concern themselves with all things financial. Some businesses externalize costs onto the environment and society. Discussion[edit]