The Washington Business Journal reported this morning that a new Spanish bank with a social mission is coming to DC.
Caja Navarra’s business model stresses transparency and social investment. The bank publicly reports its profits and then invites its constituents to donate 30% of those profits back to a list of approved charities.
While big businesses have been practicing corporate social responsibility for years, this unique model allows the bank’s customers to determine the focus of the bank's philanthropic investments. Plus, those investments have the potential to be MASSIVE!
Caja Navarra, or CAN, chose the DC area for its U.S. launch due to the large number of nonprofits in the region. The bank expects to open its first U.S. affiliate early next year.
What a great business model! During a time when big banks are being bailed out by taxpayers, and consumer trust in banks is waning, here comes a new bank that is not only going to invest heavily in social causes, but is going to allow its customers to determine those causes.
As a marketer, I would love to market the CAN model!
This reminds me of the days when Muhammad Yunas first introduced the idea of micro finance, and people from all over the world were intrigued by it, but didn't know if would work. Well, we know the answer to that question now!
However, it will be interesting to see if this social mission will be enough to entice investors to move their money to CAN.
While I think that this model will be attractive to the philanthropic minded; I still believe that we live in a cynical society that has become more and more protective of its assets and investments. The question that CAN will probably hear most often is, “What's in it for me?” Will CAN offer free or interest bearing checking accounts, overdraft protection, low or no ATM fees, access to loans, etc?
However, all things being equal, this socially responsible business model could tip the scales in favor of CAN, especially in a city like DC with more than 30,000 NGOs.
I’m intrigued! What do you think?
