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The clean money context

While banks may invest your money in good, some can also invest your money in industries that do enormous harm, like fossil fuels, live animal exports and weapons.

Why clean money?

We're building the clean money movement to inspire and empower people to use their money to create a better future for people and the planet.

The way banks use your money shapes the world we live in. By joining the clean money movement, you can help change the banking system and the world for the better.

How banks make money

  1. Banks use customers’ deposits in savings and transaction accounts to make loans. 
  2. These loans go to whoever the bank chooses. 
  3. Those loans can be to other people or to businesses that might be doing good or causing harm. 
  4. The interest earnings on these loans is larger than the interest paid to customers for their savings. 
  5. And the difference between the two contributes to the bank’s profit. 

Who banks do business with

Personal  customers: 

Home loans, personal loans, savings accounts and so on for individual banking customers. 

Businesses, governments, other organisations and banks:

Commercial investments (or loans) for a variety of purposes – like buying businesses, funding property development, and building public infrastructure. 

Clean money is a choice

At Bank Australia, we choose to do business with people, businesses and organisations who believe in a fair and just society. It’s all here in our responsible banking policy

If you’d like to keep reading

Take a look at the Reserve Bank website or Bank Australia's impact report

More about Bank Australia

Stories >

The people doing great things for people and the planet.

Grants >

Meet our community customer grant recipients.

Impact >

Read about the impact made by the collective power of clean money.

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