Disambiguating the concept of social banking

The concept of social banking is often confused with other similar notions, such as alternative, civic, value-driven, ethical or sustainable banks. This ambiguous situation makes it very easy for a given financial institution to proclaim their social and environmental commitment. Quite often, however, there is an obvious gap between overstated intentions and real facts. Within this context, the aim of this paper is to draw a clear distinction between the concept of social banking and other related banking practices. In more precise terms, the paper will first explore the context allowing the emergence of social banking. Secondly, a concrete characterization of social banks will be proposed taking into account two complementary approaches: 1) a study of their specific underlying philosophy; 2) an analysis of their distinct banking practice