Why $100 is worth more at Bank Australia.

Money.

It’s a topic that most of us feel awkward to have a conversation about.

But we must.

For you see, money is doing a lot of harm to the planet and the people that inhabit it. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Money can be a force for good.

But it has to be clean. By clean, we don’t mean, washed-and-laundered clean, we mean not dirty.

Simply put, clean money is money that does no harm. No harm to people. No harm to the planet.

Is your money clean?

Do you know what your money is doing right now?

Do you know if it’s funding industries doing harm? Like Coal mining. Gambling. Tobacco. Or Nuclear weapons.

Google searches like ‘don’t bank on the bomb’ and ‘market forces’ will help you discover some answers.

If you’re still reading, then you want to know there’s an alternative, right?

A responsible alternative.

A responsible bank.

For anyone that just rolled their eyes, it’s not an oxymoron.

Although if you’ve been following the

Royal Commission, we won’t blame you for thinking so.

Bank Australia is owned fully by its customers.

Being customer-owned means we don’t have external shareholders.

So instead of paying dividends, we’re able to use our profits to provide better rates and fees for our customers and invest in projects that make society better.

Our profits never come at the expense of doing the right thing.

Who we won’t lend to is just as important as who we do.

We don’t lend to the fossil fuel, gambling, tobacco, weapons, intensive animal farming (caged chickens, pig stalls), live animal exports or any other industry that does harm to society or the environment.

But don’t just take our word for it.

All our loans are subject to our Responsible Banking Policy.

We’re also the first bank in Australia to have its deposit and home lending products certified ‘responsible’ by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia. So now you know where our customers’ money doesn’t go.

But what about where it does go?

What good does our customers’ money do?

For a start, every Bank Australia customer is a part-owner in our Conservation Reserve – a world-first for a bank.

The 927 hectare bushland reserve is being regenerated with the help of Greening Australia and Trust for Nature to protect the 13 threatened species that call it home. And when a customer takes out a home loan for a new home construction, we protect an equivalent amount of land in our Conservation Reserve.

Beyond conserving native land for future generations, Bank Australia is committed to supporting renewable energy. Renewable energy is one of the major priorities for our customers, so it’s a natural fit for their money to be invested in community renewable energy projects.

We’re supporting renewable infrastructure projects, the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project being one of them.

At the other end of the scale, we’re helping low-income households put solar on their roofs and money in their pockets.

Our customers’ money is also out doing good for people who struggle to make ends meet.

We lend to community housing projects to help them build affordable housing for people at risk of homelessness who can’t afford to compete in the rental market. We assist disability providers to build homes designed to help people live more comfortably and have their needs met. We also lend money to build safe and sustainable housing for single women on low-incomes, some escaping family violence. And if our customers buy an electric or hybrid car, they get a lower rate on their loan and we offset the carbon emissions from every car we finance.

You can see a pattern emerging right? Money being used for good instead of harm. Money we call, clean money.

We’re part of a new economy of ‘clean.’ Clean energy. Clean food. Clean transport. Clean money.

Which brings us back to the point we posed up there in the headline. Is your money worth more in our bank?

We think so.

Perhaps not financially, but money is more than dollars and cents.

The true value of money is what you do with it, or more specifically, what good you do with it.

That’s why we believe your money is worth more at Bank Australia.