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Swimming against the tide: ethical banks as countermovement

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  • Daniel Tischer

Abstract

This paper adds to the literature on bank ethics, social movements and stakeholder engagement by presenting ethical banks (EBs) as a countermovement to the process of financialisation. Following the 2008 financial crisis, ethical banks have expanded markedly. Some suggest that this growth is opportunist in nature and reasoned in the public's disenfranchment with commercial banks. However, this paper seeks to demonstrate how British EBs have been, and remain, connected to social movements and civil society organisations (CSOs). It employs a mixed-method approach to review EB coverage in media and to explore three UK-based EBs' connections with CSOs via Social Network Analysis, with the aim to compare them to, and contrast them from, building societies, credit unions and other alternative banks. The link between EBs and CSOs were further examined in interviews with EBs. Findings support the idea of EBs in the UK as countermovement by highlighting how connections with CSOs constrain EBs behaviour, but at the same time give EBs privileged access to niche markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Tischer, 2013. "Swimming against the tide: ethical banks as countermovement," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(4), pages 314-332, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jsustf:v:3:y:2013:i:4:p:314-332
    DOI: 10.1080/20430795.2013.837807
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas I. Palley, 2013. "Financialization: What It Is and Why It Matters," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Financialization, chapter 2, pages 17-40, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Roland Benedikter, 2011. "Social Banking and Social Finance," SpringerBriefs in Business, in: Social Banking and Social Finance, pages 1-128, Springer.
    3. Roland Benedikter, 2011. "Social Banking and Social Finance," SpringerBriefs in Business, Springer, number 978-1-4419-7774-8, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Carolina Rezende de Carvalho Ferreira & Vinicius Amorim Sobreiro & Herbert Kimura & Flavio Luiz de Moraes Barboza, 2016. "A systematic review of literature about finance and sustainability," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 112-147, April.
    2. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier, 2024. "Sustainable banking and trust in the global South," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122554, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Fernando Ubeda & Alvaro Mendez & Francisco Javier Forcadell, 2024. "Sustainable banking and trust in the global South," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(S1), pages 34-44, March.
    4. Jasman Tuyon & Okey Peter Onyia & Aidi Ahmi & Chia-Hsing Huang, 2023. "Sustainable financial services: reflection and future perspectives," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(4), pages 664-690, December.
    5. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier & López, Belén, 2024. "How socially sustainable multinational banks promote financial inclusion in developing countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Úbeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier, 2023. "Sustainability and trust: financial inclusion in the Global South," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117589, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier & López, Belén, 2024. "How socially sustainable multinational banks promote financial inclusion in developing countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124260, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Michael A. Urban & Dariusz Wójcik, 2019. "Dirty Banking: Probing the Gap in Sustainable Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, March.
    9. Marta Cuesta-González & Julie Froud & Daniel Tischer, 2021. "Coalitions and Public Action in the Reshaping of Corporate Responsibility: The Case of the Retail Banking Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 539-558, October.

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