Andoain Town Council (Gipuzkoa, Basque Country) has signed an agreement with Fiare. Socially excluded citizens, and those in danger of being so, will be able to ask for loans from the ethical bank without the guarantees required by traditional banks.
In the terms of the agreement signed, citizens who meet the conditions will be able to ask for loans of between 600 and 2,500 Euros in order to cover needs not dealt with by social services. Fiare has stated that it will be flexible and, in that way, people who take out loans will have 24 months to repay, and their monthly quota will never be more than 35% of their total debt.
The town council will provide Fiare with funds for these microcredits; the bank will accept and manage the loans; social services' reports will be taken into account.
Sabadell Bank's Money to Fiare
Another town council, Mañaria (Bizkaia, Basque Country), has decided to move the 209,201 Euros it had in the Sabadell to Fiare ethical bank: "We want to make our small contribution to building society", in the words of a council spokesperson.
They have spoken out against large banks' "terrible injustices", including evictions and investing in arms.
They have switched to Fiare because they agree with the ethical bank's values. Fiare's main objective is to make savings available for social, solidarity programmes, giving priority to social progress over economic gain.
This article was translated by 11itzulpen; you can see the original in Basque here.