Banca Etica

Banca Etica is an Italian cooperative bank operating in Italy and Spain, founded in 1999 as the first ethical bank in Italy. It focuses on ethical finance principles, transparency, and social and environmental impact. The bank's key areas include social cooperation, international solidarity, environmental protection, culture, and civil society. Banca Etica manages savings of over €2.5 billion and provides loans of around €1.2 billion to organizations, families, and companies aligned with its values. Banca Etica offers standard banking services but with full transparency, publishing all loans on its website. It uses social and environmental assessment alongside financial criteria when evaluating loan applications. Recent initiatives include a €60 million agreement with the European Investment Bank to support gender equality, refugee inclusion, and development in southern Italy. The bank also partnered with the European Investment Fund to provide €200 million in support of social enterprises and microenterprises in Italy and Spain. Banca Etica is part of international ethical finance networks like the Global Alliance for Banking on Values and the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers. It aims to promote a financial system that prioritizes people and the planet over profit maximization.