Nationwide Building Society:
Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution, which ranks as the seventh-largest cooperative financial institution. It is the largest building society in the world with over 15 million members. This is founded in the year 1846 and has its headquarters in Swindon, England, UK. Davis Roberts and Joe Garner are the key people involved in this institution, holding the responsibilities of the Chairman and Chief Executive respectively. Nationwide was by far the largest British building society that did not convert to a bank in the wave of demutualization that occurred from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.
Functions of a Bank:
A bank is a place that facilitates deposits and withdrawal of the people. Banks are the financial institutions that ease the borrowings for both Households and also firms. These take the responsibility to safely withhold the corporate savings as well as household savings by providing interest on it. These financial institutions also play a major role in making the process smooth for Government savings and borrowings. It helps plan a better future by encouraging long-term deposits, pension deposits, retirement benefits, etc. Also, nowadays because of the EMI facility many people can buy many things.
For example, it allows people to purchase a bike, buy a home, or pay hospital bills through monthly installment payments rather than making a lump sum payment. Hence, these financial institutions have increased the purchasing power and become crucial for the social, economic, and overall development of the nation. These financial institutions also play a major role in making the process smooth for Government savings and borrowings.
What is Ethical Banking?
As the name suggests, Ethical banking is the process in which the banks encourage ethical activities and have a ban for non-ethical activities. Ethical activities are those activities that include promoting greenery, being environment friendly, and any activity which involves no harm to the society in which we live. Whereas, non-ethical activities are those which encourage the production of tobacco, oil, or arms industrial activities which can trigger the stability of the environment and society in negative ways. Through Ethical Banking people get diverted towards the activities where the environment can be protected with a rational mindset.
Importance of Ethical Banking:
to provide any investments for any sector which is harmful to the environment. If banks implement this, individuals will be able to hold less purchasing power for doing activities that trigger the environment in negative ways. Choosing Ethical Banking, banks can certainly avoid agreeing with the harmful or otherwise unethical industry and choose to invest the hard-earned cash in the business which can have a positive impact on society as a whole.
What makes a Bank Ethical?
An ethical bank isn’t any term that has a clear meaning written to describe the guidelines of how a bank can function in ethical means. Rather, it is described plainly as what a bank does not do. It does not encourage the investment of any such activities where the stability of the environment gets degraded i.e., it avoids agreeing upon the business activities which promote tobacco consumption, weapon manufacture, oil industries, or otherwise unethical industries which negatively impact the environment.
Generally, it uses its customers’ money to invest in the sectors such as green energy, environment friendly, and in the projects where the local communities can get benefited.
Building Society:
Building societies as the name suggests, focus much on transparency and excellent customer services rather than reshaping the investment practices and hence are categorized as Ethical. The profits gained to go back into the business itself and thereby benefitting the savers and borrowers. However, these cannot always be termed perfectly ‘Ethical’ and differ on the policies they implement and strategies they regulate.
Nationwide Building Society – An Ethical Bank:
Nationwide Building society may not have the green credentials or ethical trappings of the other famous ethical banks, they are considered to be the oldest and most established societies in the entire UK Nation. They are not listed in any stock market and are owned by their members and 100% accountable to their members. It is not registered on the list of fossil fuels.
Nationwide chooses to invest based on ethical values and does not involve, encourage the investment in any kind of ethically wrong activities, human rights abusive or violence-related ventures.
Conclusion:
Nationwide is one of the UK’s most established building societies which holds honesty and integrity as the cornerstones of the foundation. It pledges not to invest in any ventures which oppose the well-being of its members and focuses on upholding transparency of the transactions. Nationwide is a good choice for everyone interested in an ethical bank with a long history of ethical practices.
FAQ’s:
- Who owns Nationwide?
Nationwide is a building society that is owned by its members.
- Is Nationwide an environment-friendly Bank?
Nationwide is one of the oldest building societies which promotes economic friendly activities.
- How to Nationwide make money?
In Nationwide, the profits are invested back into the business to help improve customer service.
