National Banking on Values Day

With Banking on Values Day coming up on November 3^rd, we thought we could take some time to explain what it means and why Verity puts planet, people, and prosperity first. We are a part of the GABV (which stands for Global Alliance for Banking on Values) and Verity is one of 67 financial institutions across 6 continents to be a part of this alliance.

Committing to this movement is not just an empty promise to make our company look good—we are held accountable for each of our actions day after day to make sure Verity, as a financial institution, stays true to a set of principles.

Standards/Principles of the movement:

• Triple bottom line approach
• Real economy
• Long-term resiliency
• Transparency
• Client centered
• Culture

To learn more about what each standard means, click here.

The purpose of these principles is to further communicate the hidden truths of financial institutions and how they use the money you give them. Inclusion is at the forefront of this movement, making sure institutions are creating basic products for a greater number of people to access rather than products that hold too many requirements, which only benefits the institution and not the member or customer. The members of the GABV are held accountable for every action and risk they take to make sure we are all staying focused on the collective goal of changing the banking system so that it is more transparent and supports real goals to reduce the carbon footprint we have created.

You might recognize some of these terms, but one that needs explaining is the triple bottom line approach. When we say, “we put people, planet and prosperity for all above the bottom line” this is the triple bottom line approach.

Verity joined this group in 2017 after going through a rigorous application process. We later joined the GABV climate pledge agreement in 2019, an initiative that is aligned with other climate pledges around the world (and Seattle-area residents have been hearing a lot about “climate pledges” lately with the Climate Pledge Arena grand opening). Every day, we monitor the volume of electric vehicle or solar loans we fund compared to loans that support fossil fuel usage. Even our branches are run using the cleanest energy possible. The money we make off of all loans and fees is invested back into the community, instead of oil pipelines and investors’ pockets. These are just some examples of the standards we hold to be a part of this movement.

November 3^rd is Banking on Values Day, and we are here to celebrate the work GABV members have done, with so much more to come. So there is one question we would like you to ask yourself: How are other financial institutions using your money?