A Bank That Gives You Credit Based On Your Positive Impact
Lars Boggild Shares How Vancity Is Re-Imagining Finance Through A Socially Responsible Mindset
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In This Episode
Is your banker invested in wanting to see your business have a positive impact on your community? Does your financial team try to find ways to get you access to funding or better financial products based on what your company’s goals are? To anyone out there that is saying, “That’s not what bankers do.”, you need to listen up.
Lars Boggild of Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) joins us to talk about how they are Canada’s first impact bank with B Corp status and what that all means. Credit unions have always been about community, but the approach from VCIB also prioritizes impact for good which opens doors to people who may not be the traditional big banks’ ideal customers.
How do you bank? Do you find you’ve hit issues with getting access to funding or products from traditional big banks?
Episode Breakdown
First 10 Minutes
Meet one of Greg’s B Corp friends Lars Boggild, who is working for Vancity Community Investment Bank that is registered as Canada’s first impact bank. We hear from Lars, who they work with, and how they are helping B Corps have positive impacts by supporting them with unique offerings.
10 – 20 Minutes
Greg asks about what sets Vancity apart and how did they get on this path to help businesses and businesses that are doing good. Lars explains how their long term community focus and how they haven’t forced themselves to grow big has helped them maintain their focus. Lars also highlights how at the end of the day, leadership matters. Vancity’s board has held to that when they hire for key roles. Greg quizzes Lars on what the benefits are for small businesses to work with Vancity versus a traditional bank. Lars speaks to the benefits that they offer and highlights how they like to work with small businesses.
20 – 30 Minutes
Dave asks about Lars background and if it’s in the financial space. Lars explains how his experience working with climate activism and then non-profit funding has given him a different perspective on how and what companies should be given more financial services. Dave asks if Lars has ever run into issues now, having moved into the financial space. Lars speaks to the areas he feels that healthy scepticism is needed and the areas he thinks we need to look at more in the financial industry.
Lars Boggild, CFA
Senior Manager, Banking and Investments, Vancity Community Investment Bank
Lars is a creative thinker working at the intersection of finance and social change. He currently supports new business relationships across lending and investments for Vancity Community Investment Bank, Canada’s first bank dedicated to social and environmental impact. Prior to VCIB, he worked at Rally Assets leading impact investing advisory projects that built practical strategies for asset owners to deploy more of their investments towards social and environmental good. Lars also sits on the Canadian Community Economic Development Network’s National Policy Council, the Investment Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Foundation of Eastern Canada, the Impact Investing Subcommittee of the Laidlaw Foundation and is the Board Chair of Not Far from the Tree, Toronto’s urban fruit picking project.