Corporate responsibility in the banking sector: a proposed typology for the German case.

International audiencePurpose – The aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis has accelerated a pre-existing process of ethical approach in the banking industry. Today, all banks claim to be socially, environmentally and economically committed with the philosophy of sustainable finance. The purpose of this paper is to show that, beyond the outward similarities, there are three different types of banking approach, each reflecting a distinct business model: banks whose ethical/social approach is mainly based on what they say, represented by universal banks; banks whose ethical/social approach is based on what they are, essentially the co-operative banks; banks whose ethical/social approach is based on what they do, the so-called ethical banks. Design/methodology/approach – The paper bases its argument on the German banking industry, which is a big European country with a fairly diversified banking sector. The paper examines three types of sources for each of the above-mentioned categories of banks: the soci