5 September 2007
Options for ethical banking remain limited with many high street banks still not providing a wide range of 'green' banking choices for customers, Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS) has revealed.
Although many customers have expressed an interest in banking ethically, EIRIS explains that UK banks have been slow to provide green banking options.
However some major financial institutions are starting to take more of an interest in green issues, with the Co-operative bank offering an ethical current account and Citigroup committing $50 billion to green projects in May this year.
"Options for ethical consumers looking for a mainstream bank account are still relatively limited," a spokesperson for EIRIS said.
"Current account options are still quite limited, but options are opening up for savers.
"From a consumer perspective it seems that there aren't as many options available as people want.
"We are seeing a lot more people expressing an interest, particularly over the last three or four years, in ethical finance, and obviously that includes who they bank with."
Recent figures suggest four in ten people in the UK would accept a lower rate of interest on their bank accounts if they knew their bank invested ethically.
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