Triodos Bank

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Triodos Bank N.V.

Type	Public, not listed
Founded	1980
Headquarters	Zeist, the Netherlands
Key people	Peter Blom, CEO
Industry	Financial services
Products	Sustainable banking
Revenue	--
Employees	264 (2004)
Slogan	--
Website	www.triodos.com

Triodos Bank N.V. is a bank based in the Netherlands with branches in Belgium, the United Kingdom and Spain. It is a pioneer in ethical banking. Triodos Bank finances companies who they think add cultural value and benefit both people and the environment. The name, Triodos - 'tri hodos' - is translated from the Greek as 'three-way approach'.

Triodos differs from many other ethical banks because it exclusively lends to businesses and charities that it thinks benefit people or the environment, rather than only avoiding companies judged to be doing harm. The Bank uses money deposited by close to 100,000 savers and lends it to hundreds of organisations, such as fair trade initiatives, organic farms and social enterprises. Savers can open conventional savings accounts, as well as ethical funds and venture capital. Triodos also has an active international department, supporting microfinance initiatives across the developing world.

Backed by growing interest in saving and investing, as well as spending, ethically Triodos' balance sheet was worth $1,445 million, or £837 million, by the end of 2005.

Triodos is the only commercial bank in the UK to provide an annual list of all the loans the bank has made, so savers can see exactly how their money's used.