Bank sees record growth following rise in social housing lending

Published by Julien Tremblin for 24dash.com in Housing

'Ethical bank' Triodos has announced record annual growth in 2011 with a 36% increase in its UK loan book notably thanks to a rise in social housing lending.

Its results for the year rose to £424m, a net increase of £113m compared to 2010 with new loans going to “sustainable businesses”. The largest volume growth areas were renewable energy and social housing.

Triodos only lends to businesses and charities “delivering social and environmental benefits”, from renewables to community initiatives, so all the money deposited with the bank by its savers "supports projects working towards a more sustainable society".

One of Triodos’ new clients is Giroscope, a social enterprise in Hull which renovates empty dilapidated properties for use by those most in need of housing.

Dr Bevis Watts, Head of Business Bank at Triodos, said: “These results are very exciting and mean we’re already two years ahead of our previous business plan targets. 36% growth over the year demonstrates demand for sustainable finance despite the challenging economic environment. It’s also an indication that a sustainable and socially conscious approach can help businesses and charities to flourish, bucking the trends of the wider market.

“Demand is so high for finance from Triodos that we now have to carefully select the strongest applicants to ensure the money savers deposit with us has the greatest possible positive social and environmental impact.

“We expect our lending to grow by at least a further 20% in 2012, but we could do even more if more people took a conscious decision about their savings.  So, I challenge individual savers and businesses to think about what their savings could be doing if their money was deposited with a bank with a more conscious and sustainable approach to lending and investment.”