Friday 24 February 2012

Triodos Bank

Now, I am sure that Triodos Bank are very worthy and upright people, but just look at this taken from their website...

"The social businesses we finance work to improve and enrich the lives of millions of people; tackling inequality and injustice. And developing strong communities in the process. Triodos Bank's customers include microfinance banks in developing countries, innovative fair trade enterprises and social housing providers.

That is deeply annoying on so many levels.

1. "the social buinesses..." More bloody weasel words. All businesses are social you witless numpties.

2. "...Tackling inequality and injustice... So not making a profit then? So just why are you 'in business'? Aren't you really in welfarism?

3. "...fair trade... Just don't me started on this trade destroying protectionist mercantilist claptrap...(No wonder the EU apparatchiks love it).

...and there's much much more of this touchy feely guff all over their website. Why oh why don't they get it? The key civilising force for mankind is trade. Preferebaly free trade. You don't shoot your customers.

Grump grump grump.

6 comments:

Steven_L said...

It's one of the institutions recommended by Ed Mayo's new 'move your money' campaign:

http://moveyourmoney.org.uk/

Looks a bit like he's trying to start a run on Barclays.

Robin Smith said...

Agreed.

Rent seekers masquerading as "planet savers."

When I engaged "social enterprise" last year, I pointed out that it was theft to get for rent free premises. They no longer speak to me.

Phillip Blonde, Respublica is of this exact ilk. Another fake think tank. He was playing Robin Hood.

Lola said...

RS - Re 'Robin Hood' - paraded by lefties as 'robbing the rich to give to the poor'. Nope. RH was a freedom fighter. He fought the unelected unlawful Sherrif of Nottingham and his hench-persons. he took from the tax gatherers and the fake business of his day - The Church (more rent seekers) and redistributed that wealth back t the 'ppor' from whence it was taken by coercion.

Anonymous said...

The Cooperative Bank website is similarly irritating, as are many of the smaller institutions.

I've been reviewing options recently for clients interested in financing wind turbines installations and found the whole experience infuriating. Had to work very, very hard to keep reminding myself I'm advising them, not taking on a role as their moral compass.

Since I can't just turn existing good clients away, I rationalised it as being similar to Vespasian's urinal tax and "pecunia non olet". Assuming, that is, I ever make anything out of it - which isn't a foregone conclusion at this point.

Mark Wadsworth said...

The jackpot on their website is here:

Triodos Bank’s growth across Europe is organic. It works with people and institutions in countries who want to work with it, rather than target markets and develop them from a distance. And while the values that bind its customers and co-workers are the same, there are important differences.

Regulations, tax incentives and government approaches to sustainability are sometimes markedly different in diverse markets. Approaches to the development (or not) of the Spanish solar industry and tax incentives in the Netherlands are just two examples, touched on below...

An acute economic downturn prompted widespread government austerity measures in general, and rethinking around sustainability policy in particular.

In 2010 the Spanish government proposed cutting feed-in tariffs for solar projects, for example.

The German government went further implementing changes to their feed-in tariffs; the Belgian authorities reduced subsidies for new private solar energy investments, while the Dutch government started to phase out tax benefits linked to green funds in the Netherlands. Declining government support for the arts was notable in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium.


Yup, they practise tax and subsidy-arbitrage, they're just another bunch of rent-seekers using green typeface.

Bayard said...

On the other hand, the Triodos Bank may be cynically exploiting the type of people who like to think that their bank is all touchy feely, i.e. this is just another bit of niche marketing. Not sure that that makes them any less irritating, though...