Banking for Ecologial and Social Good at GLS Bank

Banking for ecological and social good at
GLS Bank

Werner Landwehr
Diplom Bankbetriebswirt
Head of GLS Bank Berlin

Sitra’s Sustainable Economy Forum
Excursion to Berlin

Berlin - 6th November, 2012

GLS Bank | SITRA Finnish Sustainable Economy Forum Excursion to Berlin – Berlin 6th November, 2012 1

a brief presentation of …

… GLS Bank
Berlin
future
human
economic

collective
transpar
ent
conveniently

awareness
human
sense



… GLS Bank
Bochum



… GLS Bank
How money is going with
Bochum
us ...
On the facade you will find a large banner...
 Money is like the sea water.
The more of them you will
drink, the thirstier you will be.
 Money makes you beautiful.
 Money is realized spirit.
 Money may be the dish for
many but not the core.
 A business that is worth
anything as money is not
good business.
 Make money your god and it
will be plague you like the
devil.
 A rich man is often only a
poor man with lots of money
… and what we can do with
it.

1. Introductory Remarks

Crucial
Question: …honestly…

...Fundametal Value or
Marketing?


AGENDA

AGENDA 1. Introductory Remarks
2. Ethical Investment Opportunities
3. Meaningfull Loan Business



What is different about GLS Bank?

Our guiding principle:
Money is to serve people,
money is there for the people

GLS Bank is the first social-ecological
universal bank in the world.



Our Motivation

» “Fears that we have for the future can only be
overcome by images of a future we want.”

[Wilhelm Ernst Barkhoff, Founder of GLS Bank]



Our guiding Consistency
principles To evaluate the impact on lending to the world ...

Transparency
To report publicly on all lending ...

Responsibility
To give the oppurtunity to self-determined participation ...

.. that makes sense



Consistency „To evaluate the impact on lending to the world ...
...our guiding ...from the “magic triangle” to a “magic square”.
principles

Real use / social & ecological

interest / yield liquidity / availability

security / risk



Transparency „Publishing every loan given.“
...our guiding
principles

social economy living
& education

environment



Responsibility The GLS Bank is a cooperative bank.
…our guiding
principles
25.000 members build the basis of the bank and …
►… enable the social/-ecological loan business with
their capital
►… do have one vote each - regardless of their amount

Cooperative of cooperative shares
bank

„Participate independently.“



Sustainability
» The basis for our work is to respect the entirety and to
care about a peaceful coexistence of all cultures, that are based
on individual freedom and responsibility.
We take the human being serious in its entirety of body, soul
and spirit.
We define environment holistically in the sense of a life
supporting unit of nature and development of civilization.
Our acting shall preserve the life chances of our and the
following generations and support their development.

[from the mission statement of the GLS Bank]



Understanding of sustainability

Profit
Version 1 People Planet

Version 2
People Planet Profit

GLS Version
Humane Forward-looking
(People) (Planet) Profit



Manage money To deal conciously with money means:
sustainably  Sustainable shopping
 Use of fair and safe transaction environments

 Invest in socially sustainable and fair projects

 Maintain a high degree of transparency
 Ignore mixed prices

 Choose associate partners counciously
 Use money counciously to shape society
 Act value based



Ideas about Why are we economically active?
economy  to earn money?
 to make profits?

 to sell non-value adding products to customers?

 to make people more greedy?
 to pass time?

Is something missing here?



Ideas about Economy serves...
economy  to meet the needs of all people Goal
 for conserving creation Method
 to make profit Measurement

Acting economically is always directed to another person...

To focus only on your own interests is an illusion. It is
neither helpfull nor usefull!



Ideas about Needs do not equal desires!
economy  Needs are directly correlated to a person.
 Satisfaction of needs is always a sort of consumption

 The wish of having rights is a desire not a need.

 Wealth may be a wish - but not a need.



Basic human
needs Energy Health

Money
Nutrition Education

Housing

Money serves as an activating element for individual and
social fileds of development


1. Introductory Remark

What’s the
problem with
Money?

212 Trillion USD approx.. 158 Trillion €



What’s the Growth of gross world product since 1980 Ø 6,3 % p.a
problem with (have been in 30 years from 100 units 630)
Money?
2010 approx. 56.000.000.000.000 €
56 trillion Euro
Nominal growth of capital worldwide Ø 9,9 % p.a.
(have been in 30 years from 100 units 1.700)

2010 approx. 158.000.000.000.000 €
158 trillion Euro
Growth of global financial debt Ø 10,6 % p.a.
(have been in 30 years from 100 units 2.060)

2010 approx. 198.000.000.000.000 €
198 trillion Euro



What’s the It is inevitably true:
problem with ► One man's debts are the other´s assets.
Money?
► Liabilities and assets are two sides of the same coin
and both sides are of equal value.

Global capital accumulation by
► concentration of wealth
► interest, greed for yield and speculation
► Monetization of social relationships (capital funded)
...leads to greater wealth, which inevitably leads to
increasing debts.



What’s the Since real values arise only from productive work one has to
problem with assume that the workers of this world are not able to
Money? generate the returns the global debt requires as service.

Notice: Money does not work!
You can not eat money!



What’s the Find solutions....
problem with
Money?
• if you expand the boundaries of reality
• if you expand the dimension of time
• and if you take more personal responsibility

... to look at things from a greater distance.



What’s the What can we do?
problem with • give away your wealth
Money?
• property tax (= political pressure for donation)

• investment in people (for example, education)

• tax on financial transactions, tax on the circulation of
financial values (slow down)



Anual report
2011 Inspiring
collective
Sense
Human
Organic
Values
Culture
Energy
Hapiness
Design



Management
Board



GLS Bank

GLS Bank GLS Equity Business GLS Treuhand

► Deposits ► Investment funds, ► Individual foundations,
► Financial Investments direct equity holding and inheritances and
donations
► Loans equity funds
► Foundation funds (e.g.
► Insurance
agriculture, development
► Monetary Transactions, aid)
Current accounts

Bank Equity capital Foundation

Business volumen: Equity capital: Business volume: ca. 75
approx. 224 mill. EUR mill. EUR
approx. 2.262 mill. EUR
Allocation: ca. 6,3 mill. EUR

Total assets GLS Bank: approx. 2,56 bn. EUR
Last update: 31.12.2011


Banking service Funds/Deposits Funding/Financing
 Savings and investment  Loans
products, current
 Cost-recovery loan
accounts, overnight deposit
accounts  green private mortage
funding
 Pension plan
 Funds  Microcredits

 Wealth management
Monetary Transactions Insurance
 Giro account -private  Pension insurance
 Giro account -business  Disability insurance
 House bank  Corporate pension scheme
(Last update 31.12.2012)

Balance sheet total GLS Bank: approx. 2,26 bn. Euro (2,43 bn Euro incl. Depot B)
Update 21.09.2012 Balance sheet total approx. 2,6 bn. € (+ 330 mill. € + 15 %)
Balance sheet total approx. 2,8 bn. € incl. Depot B (+ 367 mill. € + 15 %)



Facts:  approx.116 million EUR equity
Updated
31.12.2011
 approx. 33 million EUR cooperative business assets

 approx.21.600 members

 on average 1.500 EUR per member



Facts:  approx.116 million EUR equity
31.12.2011 158 mill. + 24 %
21.09.2012
 approx. 33 million EUR cooperative business assets
52,8 mill. + 81 %

 approx.21.600 members
26.424 + 22 %

 on average 1.500 EUR per member
2.000 + 33 %



balance sheet

customer deposits

loan portfolio



Investment Funds & security paper
criteria  Application of positive and negative criteria

 Sustainability research of all issuers
 Investment comitee

 “GLS Anlageuniversum”

Sustainability
 Use of humane, forward looking und economic criteria



GLS Members  Build the base for our social-ecological banking service

 Have one vote each – regardless of their amount of
cooperative shares
 Build a community with common values
 Contribute to change the structure of financial markets

 Gain three times - human, forward looking und
economicaly



Our members  question things.
and  are politically interested.
customers…
 are interested in culture, education

and ecology.
 emphasise healthy nutrition.
 are active members in the society.

 are aware of challenges and
contradiction of living a sustainable
lifestyle.



Achieve something jointly that can´t be
achieved alone.



17.480 loans with a volume of 1.122,5 mill. Euro (31.12.2012)
Update 21.09.2012 : 1.322,0 mill. € (+ 199,5 mill. €) + 17,8 %

Facilities for the handicaped 8,5% 7,7% Living projects for the aging

Free-structured schools and
Kindergartens 13,8%
26,6% Renewable energies

Accomodation 8,8%

Green private mortage funding
9,7% 4,0% Organic farming

Culture 4,3% 10,8% Organic businesses

Other 3,6% 2,2% Health

Last update: 31.12.2011



We invest in… … Education

Emil-Molt-School Calw – a joint place for learning



We invest in… … Health/ Life in old age

Hermann Keiner Haus e.V. - Dortmund



We invest in… …facilities for people with disabilities

Troxler-House in Wuppertal – Sheltered Workshop



We invest in... … culture and art

Master violin-maker Dominik Hufnagl – a fine-sounding investment



We invest in… … housing projects

Housing project Hegelstraße 7 GmbH – common property instead of private



We invest in… … organic sector

Organic food



We invest in… … organic farming

Farm Weggun –organic berries



We invest in… … renewable energy

SINNVEST and Densys – Consulting, Planning and Building of PV- Plants



New loans in
2011-
anual report

7.811 debtors - –
located in over 4.494
places in Germany


Awards - Thank you!

Our awards
 „Bank of the year“ 2010, 2011 & 2012 (Börse Online und n-tv)

 “German Fairness Prize” 2011 (Thomas Jorberg)

 Querdenker Award 2011

 Best housing financing & availability by phone 2011
(Survey by €uro Magazine for "Best Bank“ Award)
 “Social Entrepreneur for Sustainability” 2010 (Falk Zientz)

 Marketing Award Bochum 2010

 Bank21 Innovation Prize 2010
 B.A.U.M. Umweltpreis (Enivronment Prize) 2010

 The New Economy – Sustainable Bank of the Year 2009

 Future Award: Verantwortung Unternehmen 2009

“best house bank, bank of the
 portfolio institutional 2009
year, best giro bank account”
 Standard & Poors (Rating: A+)


Communication channels

S chriftlich T elefonisch E lektronisch P ersönlich
Written Telephone Internet Face-to-
Form face
GLS Bank +49/234/ 5797-100 kundendialog@gls.de Subsidiaries:
Postfach 10 08 29 Information & Service Berlin, Bochum,
44708 Bochum www.gls.de Frankfurt, Freiburg,
Fax: 0234 5797-222 +49/234/ 5797-200 Hamburg, München,
Investment advisory www.gls.de/service-portal Stuttgart

+49/234/ 5797-300 www.gls.de/blog
Loan Service
www.gls.de/facebook

www.gls.de/twitter

www.gls-spendenportal.de


Thank you very much!

Werner Landwehr
werner.landwehr@gls.de
www.gls.de


Banking for Ecologial and Social Good at GLS Bank

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