Ethically oriented banks avoid dirty financial transactions. For example, they do not grant loans to companies that tolerate child labor. Nuclear energy is also taboo. Most sustainable banks also avoid doing business with fossil energies or only invest in them to a limited extent. We compare the sustainability or ESG criteria for all sustainable banks in detail so you can find your personal test winner. ESG stands for Environment, Social and Governance.
If you activate our test, you will also find out what interest banks are currently paying for call money and fixed-term deposits. It’s worth comparing: interest rates vary significantly from bank to bank.
Why comparing sustainable banks is worth it for you
Test results
We examined 16 sustainable banks. We show how they work and which transactions are taboo when granting loans and purchasing shares, public and corporate bonds. You will also find out what kind of ethical, social or ecological projects banks specifically support.
transparency
How transparent are sustainable banks presenting their sustainability guidelines in comparison? Do you disclose who you have given loans to or what investments you have made? You will discover all this after activating the test report.
Current interest rates
We provide interest rates for call money and fixed-term deposit offers from 12 ethical banks – data is updated every month.
Magazine article in PDF
If you activate our comparison, you can download the Finanztest 6/2023 test report.
Test results for 115 investments of ethical-ecological interest
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Sustainable banks in comparison
Those who want to invest green usually have a clear idea of which financial transactions they do not want to engage in. In the sustainability check, Stiftung Warentest shows which sectors and business practices sustainable financial institutions avoid. We only included banks for which sustainability is part of their core business in our comparison. Financing must exclude coal, nuclear energy, conventional and prohibited weapons, as well as labor and human rights violations.
15 banks managed to qualify and we published interest rates for twelve of them in the current deposit and fixed-term deposit product categories. Interest rates for everyday money range up to 3.1% per annum, and for one-year fixed term deposits there is also a maximum of 3.1% per annum.
Banks tested with ethical and ecological standards have few or no branches. Savers therefore often rely on the Internet, telephone or mail.
Tip: You can see which sustainable banks we looked at before enabling the comparison by clicking Test results click. You can find conventional bank interest rates here Daily Money Comparison is at Fixed Deposit Comparison the Stiftung Warentest.
How to find the right ethical bank for you
After enabling the ethical and green interest rate offer comparison, first select the main criteria that is most important to you. This may be the term that the investment product you are looking for should have. Or the criteria that is most important to you – such as the exclusion of child labor or that the bank is environmentally friendly. With just a few clicks on the filter you can find the savings offer that best meets your needs.
You can compare multiple offers and save them as PDF on your own computer. There are no interest offers from DKM, Evenord and Tomorrow banks.
Tip: If you already know which bank you want to go to and just want to know the rates for a sustainable checking account, you’re in the know. Current account comparison Stiftung Warentest at the right address. There are no current accounts at ProCredit Bank and Umweltbank. If you are also interested in green funds, read the test Which funds can you really invest green with?.
What about deposit insurance?
Green banks must at least be subject to European Union statutory deposit insurance. Therefore, 100,000 euros must be insured per person. For many banks, security goes beyond this: many church-oriented banks and GLS Bank, for example, belong to the security scheme of the Federal Association BVR of Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks. You can find details in our article Where savings are well guaranteed in Europe.