 | |
| Type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Direct bank |
| Founded | 22 July 1994 |
| Headquarters | Nuremberg, Germany |
| Total assets | €3.7 billion (2018) [1] |
Number of employees | 172 (2018) [1] |
| Website | umweltbank |
The Umweltbank AG is a German direct bank that exclusively finances ecological loan projects with its customer deposits. [2]
The Umweltbank has the objective of contributing to the protection of the environment through its business activities in every respect anchored in its statutes. [3]
With its customer deposits, the bank exclusively finances ecological lending projects in the fields of solar, ecological mortgages, wind and hydropower projects, biomass projects and organic farming. [4] The Umweltbank defines these financing priorities by the following positive and exclusion criteria: [5]
Positive criteria:
Exclusion criteria:
Compliance with environmental criteria for lending is controlled by an independent environmental council. [6] As the ecological control body, it advises the Umweltbank on environmental matters and is thus the direct counterpart to the supervisory board. In addition, five expert teams consisting of members of the environmental advisory council and Umweltbank employees assist the management. These develop action recommendations in groups that feed into the further development of the Umweltbank's statutes. [7]
The shares of the bank are 84.4 percent in free float, mainly held by customers and employees. The remaining 15.6 percent holds the GLS Bank. [8] The subscribed capital amounts to €27,882,405 and is divided into 27,882,405 bearer shares (as of December 2017 [update] ). [5] [9]
The bank was founded in 1994 by Horst P. Popp. In early 1997, it started business operations with the registration of a full banking license in the commercial register. In mid-2001, it went public. [10] Since its foundation, the bank has grown steadily. [11]
| 1997 (Founding) | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 [12] | Changes compared to 2017 [%] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer | 7,000 | 86,116 | 106,295 | 111,385 | 114,408 | 115,306 | 114,681 | 114,661 | 113,694 | 113,290 | −0.4 |
| Employees | 32 | 142 | 146 | 142 | 138 | 141 | 132 | 139 | 153 | 172 | +12.4 |
| Business volume [million euro] | 52.2 | 1,939.8 | 2,273.1 | 2,566.3 | 2,737.4 | 2,855.9 | 2,985.7 | 3,416 | 3,766 | 4,119 | +9.4 |
| Balance sheet total [million euro] | 39.5 | 1,762.9 | 1,994.0 | 2,332.7 | 2,512.8 | 2,595.4 | 2,757.7 | 3,206 | 3,485 | 3,699 | +6.1 |
| Investment volume [Mio. euro] | 15.5 | 1,179.7 | 1,338.1 | 1,554.9 | 1,720.4 | 1,808.0 | 1,938.2 | 2,056 | 2,157 | 2,330 | +8.0 |
| Lending volume [million euro] | 25.5 | 1,449.7 | 1,732.6 | 1,916.8 | 2,125.1 | 2,245.8 | 2,496.2 | 2,596 | 2,710 | 2,812 | +10.1 |
| Net income [million euro] | 0 | 10,004 | 11,008 | 12,043 | 13,447 | 14,542 | 15,586 | 16,154 | 16,662 | 16,936 | +1.6 |
The bank publishes a loan portfolio every year, which can be used to see what kind of projects have been financed. The loan portfolio in 2017 was composed as follows: 35.9 percent solar loans, 35.2 percent ecological building financing, 25.2 percent wind and hydro projects, and 3.7 percent biomass projects, organic farming and other projects. [13]
The total volume of the projects funded, which consisted of credit draws and open loan commitments, amounted to €2,710 billion (as of December 2017 [update] ). The ratio of credit volume to customer deposits (referred to by the bank as the environmental guarantee coverage ratio) was around 114 percent in 2017 (as of December 2017 [update] ). [13]
Overall, carbon dioxide (CO2) savings were achieved in 2017 from the more than 22,500 subsidized loan projects amounting to 538,827 t CO2. [13]
The bank is a member of the statutory deposit insurance, but does not belong to a deposit guarantee fund; thus deposits up to 100,000 euros are protected in full.
Since its founding, the company has received several awards, including the Golden Bull for Sustainability 2009, [14] B.A.U.M. Environmental Award 2010, [15] the German CSR Prize 2013 and was awarded in the competition Office & Environment 2017. [16] In 2017, the Umweltbank was honored by Chip's new customer-hotline-test. Several direct banks were compared with regard to their availability, waiting time, service and transparency. The Umweltbank made second place. [17] In the customer survey of the German Institute for Service Quality on behalf of n-tv, the Umweltbank was awarded the quality rating very good. Customer satisfaction was assessed in terms of service, conditions, transparency, security, image and reputation of the bank and product range. In addition, customer anger and readiness to recommend flowed into the overall result. [18]
The company supports various environmental organizations and conservation organizations through donations and membership fees. [15] It is a member of various interest groups and associations that promote the preservation of the environment and an ecological way of life or promote the development of renewable energies. [19] The Umweltbank is an official bearer of the Fair Company seal. [20] In 2017, it introduced an environmental management system that is validated according to the guidelines of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. [21] In addition, the Umweltbank has also published the Declaration of Compliance with the German Sustainability Code. This makes it one of around 200 companies that use the standard drafted by the German Council for Sustainable Development for their non-financial reporting. [22] The signing of the Diversity Charter advocates recognition and appreciation of all people in their corporate culture. [23]
The magazine Finanztest reported that some investors were disappointed with the banking house. The bank had offered and sold them risky investments in wind farms with false advertising statements. Furthermore, it was reported that long-term investments in wind farms were recommended as secure retirement provision. The losses sustained by investors in numerous closed-end funds distributed by the Umweltbank have led to allegations that the Umweltbank has deliberately misled investors about the risks of wind funds. [24] The magazine Der Spiegel reported in early 2014 that many wind power projects, which attracted savers with the promise of high returns, were running poorly. One example was the report of a wind farm participation, which the Umweltbank had advertised as an ideal supplementary pension, but in which after a short time the prospective remittances did not occur. [25] After a lawsuit filed by the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband against the Umweltbank, the bank was defeated at the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court. [26] The verdict was final. [27] In the opinion of the court, the bank was not allowed to point out the advantages (high profit participation interest) without also presenting the risks accordingly. [28]
At the beginning of 2015, the Umweltbank was criticized for failing to inform on its homepage that the board had no budget discharge for 2013. [29]
According to a report by Die Tageszeitung from Berlin, the Umweltbank is said to have refused a paid student his leave and continued salary in the event of sickness. The Umweltbank violated thereby valid employment law. According to the board, the bank has failed to do so due to an inappropriate administrative burden, which arises as part of a flexible working model. A student should have been dismissed without warning or a reason due to a submitted vacation request. However, according to the CEO Horst Popp this model is no longer offered for reasons of legal certainty. A judicial dispute between the bank and the student is pending. [30]
After persistent criticism, the founder of the bank and CEO Popp resigned as a member of the executive board on April 30, 2015. According to a report by the Handelsblatt [31] he was accused of violating the German Stock Corporation Act during the discharge of the Management Board for the 2013 financial year and of insufficiently pointing at the existing risks in the distribution of wind farm funds and profit participation certificates. At the annual general meeting on 15 June 2015, the Umweltbank was heavily criticized by investor representatives for a lack of transparency and decisions in an autocratic manner. Due to a computer error, the meeting had to be closed without result. [32]
Triodos Bank N.V. is an ethical bank based in the Netherlands with many branches in Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, and Spain. It was founded in 1980. The bank prioritises investment in environmentally friendly initiatives.
GLS Bank is a German ethical bank that was founded in 1974 as an anthroposophical initiative by Wilhelm Ernst Barkhoff and Gisela Reuther. It was the first bank in Germany that operated with an ethical philosophy. According to GLS Bank, its focus is on cultural, social and ecological initiatives, initiated by people, and not anonymous interests seeking capital or maximum profit. The name stands for Gemeinschaftsbank für Leihen und Schenken which translates as Community bank for loaning and giving.
The ProCredit Bank Deutschland is a bank based in Frankfurt am Main. It is the youngest bank of the ProCredit Holding, which operates primarily in Southeastern and Eastern Europe as well as in South America and wants to make a contribution to sustainable economic development through responsible banking business. The admission of the customer business in Germany took place in March 2013.
Heidelberg Materials is a German multinational building materials company headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Formerly known as HeidelbergCement AG, the company has rebranded as Heidelberg Materials in September 2022. It is a DAX corporation and stands as one of the world's largest building materials companies. On 1 July 2016, HeidelbergCement AG completed the acquisition of a 45% shareholding in Italcementi. This acquisition made HeidelbergCement the number one producer of construction aggregates, the second-largest in cement and the third-largest in ready-mixed concrete worldwide. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, HeidelbergCement was ranked as the 678th -largest public company in the world.
Gerhard Scherhorn was a German Professor and economist.
Arvato is a global services company headquartered in Gütersloh, Germany. Its services include customer support, information technology, logistics, and finance. The history of Arvato goes back to the printing and industry services division of Bertelsmann; the current name was introduced in 1999. Today, Arvato is one of eight divisions of Bertelsmann, the media, services, and education group. In 2016, Arvato had about 68,463 employees and an overall turnover of 3.84 billion euros.
Targobank AG is a German bank mainly operating in the retail, business and corporate customer segments and is headquartered in Düsseldorf. With 700 employees at its head office, Targobank is one of the larger banking employers in the Düsseldorf financial center. In Duisburg, the bank runs a customer center with 2,000 employees. In addition, there are administrative buildings in Mainz (factoring) and Düsseldorf. Since 2008 it is part of the French Crédit Mutuel Alliance Féderale banking group Strassburg. Before the bank was part of the American Citigroup which in 2010 became Citibank Privatkunden AG & Co. KGaA and until 1991 it had been active under the name Kundenkreditbank.
Comdirect Bank Aktiengesellschaft was the third-largest German direct bank and was based in Quickborn, Schleswig-Holstein. Founded by the Commerzbank in 1994, the company went public in 2000. The Commerzbank integrated the company on November 1, 2020.
Numbrs Personal Finance AG is a financial technology company based in Switzerland. The company offers an app called Numbrs that aggregates bank account and credit card information and facilitates mobile banking and personal financial planning.
The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) is an independent association of 'values-based banks' with a shared mission to use finance to deliver environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) positive outcomes. The GABV consists of over 60 member banks, credit unions and microfinance institutions, from a total of 44 countries. The group has 16 supporting partners. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Johannes Teyssen is a German economist and lawyer who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of E.ON, a German multinational electric utility company, from 2010 to 2021. Since January 2021, he has been a non-executive director of BP plc; since October 2021, a senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; and since 2022, chairman of Swiss energy group Alpiq Holding.
Exporo is a real estate crowdfunding platform, based in Hamburg, Germany.
Antje von Dewitz is a German entrepreneur. She is the managing director of the company VAUDE, a producer of mountain sports equipment based in Tettnang. She holds 46% of the company's shares.
Internationales Bankenhaus Bodensee AG is a private bank headquartered in Friedrichshafen. 94.42 percent of its shares belong to the Würth-Gruppe and the remaining 5.58 percent are held by the Hypo Vorarlberg Bank.
The Bank im Bistum Essen eG (BIB) is a cooperative bank which was founded in 1966. The bank is located in Essen and is focused on a specifically defined clientele. These include the Catholic Church and its institutions. Its members are business clients like hospitals, foundations, church-related housing construction, homes for disabled people, retirement homes and other institutions of provision – as well as a number of private customers: staff members of the institutions mentioned above. By now people who do not work for the church can also become customers as well as atheists or people of other religions. Due to the bank's ethic sustainability orientation, numerous customers from the charitable-foundations-field have joined the bank in recent years. Companies that are solely profit oriented are, according to the bank, not part of the bank's customer base.
The Südwestbank AG is a regional bank in the southwest of Germany which is located in Stuttgart. The bank operates in the form of a stock corporation and looks after about 100,000 private and corporate customers in Baden-Württemberg.
The Santander Consumer Bank AG is a German Credit Institution in the legal form of a corporation with headquarters in Mönchengladbach. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Banco Santander S.A.
The Steyler Bank GmbH is an ethical-ecological bank and a Christian finance of the Steyler Missionare. It was founded in 1964 in Sankt Augustin, where it still has its headquarters, and creates funds from an ethical point of view. The Steyler Bank also has a branch in Austria.
Oberbank AG is an Austrian regional bank that is headquartered in Linz. It is part of the 3-Banken-Gruppe together with BKS Bank AG and Bank für Tirol und Vorarlberg AG (BTV).
Thomas Heilmann is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Born in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, he has served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Berlin since 2017.
49°27′14″N11°05′15″E / 49.453859°N 11.087435°E
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
