| Saturday, December 30, 2006 |
| Co-op Bank in Edinburgh - any chance? |
The Co-Operative Bank claims to be the only UK high street bank with an ethical investment policy. Their money-lending services are only available to businesses who comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, uphold Fairtrade practices and allowing workers' rights; they asses the ecological impact of their corporate debtors, steer clear of companies involved in genetic modification and the arms trade; they look to support social enterprise and have a high level of consumer consultation. They really are an excellent bank and I can only recommend them based on their initiative and reputation.
Unfortunately, there is as yet only one branch of the Co-Operative Bank serving the whole of Scotland. That is the Glasgow Branch, on 29 Gordon Street. If you're in the area I suggest you get along there and see what they can do with your groats.
Because I would really like to see more branches of the Co-op in Scotland, I compared the UK population with the number of Co-op branches in each of the home nations:
Country....Population....Co-Ops....1 Branch per:
England........50m...............77.............650,000
Wales...........2.9m................8..............368,750
N. Ireland.....1.7m................1...........1,700,000
Scotland..........5m................1...........5,000,000
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, has large offices for many of the major UK banks, has been a Fairtrade City since March 2003, and is the base for a number of other FairTrade initiatives such as the New Consumer magazine. The combined population of Edinburgh and the Lothians is about 785,000. Also, and most importantly, I live here. So I'd like their next branch to be in Edinburgh. It's hard to believe there isn't one already - it must be because they have underestimated the use they would get and the benefit they'd bring to the 'burgh.
So I'm thinking of starting a petition to submit to the Co-Op, to show them that there would be significant demand for their services in Edinburgh. |
posted by pine-cones @ 17:30  |
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