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Who we are

We offer commercial banking to organisations who are helping to create a better society

Who we are

Unity Trust Bank is an award-winning, independent commercial bank that businesses can be proud to bank with. For nearly 40 years we have been helping organisations to prosper and contribute to positive economic, social and environmental change. Put simply, our purpose is to create a better society.

We provide exceptional sustainable banking services for organisations that share our principles of acting with integrity and only lend to creditworthy organisations that share our values and deliver quantifiable impact in their local communities.

Our loyal customer base continues to grow and our ambition is to become the bank of choice for all socially-minded organisations in the UK.

Despite the challenges from economic disruption, Unity remains financially strong and operationally resilient, and the compound annual growth rate of our lending portfolio was 23.8% in 2022. We will continue to pursue safe, sustainable growth into the future.

Delivering impact:

  • Our mission is to create a better society, not simply maximise profits
  • Living by our principles of banking with integrity, Unity helps change the lives of people in local communities
  • Every loan agreed that comes to us is aligned to one of more of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that our funding has demonstrable impact
  • We are committed to helping small and medium-sized UK businesses to grow; this includes creating training and employment opportunities, enabling the provision of health care services and providing housing for vulnerable people
  • We provide specialist sector knowledge and support that enables our customers to focus on their business and deliver social impact
  • Our values ensure we act in a way that helps to create a better society; they enable us to be at our best for customers, stakeholders, communities and society
  • We were the first bank to be accredited as a Living Wage Employer and the first to achieve the Fair Tax Mark. More recently, we became the first UK bank to support the UK ‘Retrofit Credits’ scheme supporting housing associations to reduce the carbon footprint of their stock and improve insulation for tenants.
  • We are verified as a Carbon Neutral Organisation and have published our Carbon Footprint in our latest Impact Report.
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Our history

1 May, 1984 – Unity Trust Bank was launched out of a vision by trade unions to create a bank that would embrace the philosophy of serving the common good. Unity’s first mission was to provide prudent, profitable commercial lending in the UK and to support jobs, industries and the British economy. While now an independent organisation, Unity continues to embody its original principles:

1984

The first few years were spent developing banking facilities for our trade union shareholders and providing additional services specifically to benefit their members.

1990s

Unity refocused as society became increasingly concerned with fighting social and financial exclusion, tailoring our products and services to meet the needs of socially-minded organisations.

2012

Unity committed to a ‘double-bottom line’ strategy; assessing sustainable financial returns alongside social impact. Unity also introduced its Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP).

2015

In December, Unity became a fully independent bank.

2016

Unity joined the Banking Standards Board in April 2016, demonstrating our commitment to helping to raise standards across the banking industry

2020

Unity was named the NACFB’s Socially Responsible Lender of the year in 2020 and again in 2021.

2021

We believe in empowering our people with the opportunity to own shares in their business. In 2021, a Share Incentive Plan, offering free, partnership and 2:1 matching shares, and a Company Share Option Plan was introduced.

2022

Unity was named the winner of Excellence in Responsible Business at the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Awards.

Unity in the Community

To celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2009, we launched our Unity in the Community initiative. This gives every employee up to five paid’ days per year to take part in volunteering and fundraising for charities and community organisations across the UK.

Not only does this benefit local communities and the people they support, it also provides valuable practical experience for our team, which enhances their understanding and knowledge of the social economy sector.

In 2022, Unity launched a new employee-led group called Unity & Me, which takes Unity in the Community a step further and introduces a range of activities and initiatives covering wellbeing, diversity and inclusion and environmental sustainability, both internally and externally.

High levels of customer satisfaction

We’re committed to providing high levels of customer service.

  • You’ll always talk to a person when you call us, not an automated message.
  • All of our teams are based in the UK.
  • We have a registered customer satisfaction rating of 80% and 87% of our customers said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with our services*.

*Figures from 2022 Impact Report

It’s simple, secure and stress-free to switch to us

If you’re ready to switch your Business Current Account to Unity Trust Bank, we’ll make sure it happens like clockwork. It’s guaranteed to take 7 working days, it’s free, and it’s all taken care of by the Current Account Switch Service.

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