Our ethics statement

Whether directly or indirectly, the impact we have on our customers, colleagues, stakeholders, the wider society and the environment matters. It says everything about who we are as a bank.

This policy outlines the ethics that sit at the very heart of how we operate, and the values that guide the way we do business.

Our mission and values

Allica Bank is dedicated to serving and supporting established small and medium businesses and empowering them to succeed. We combine modern, powerful technology with local relationships in the community to deliver expert banking for businesses in Britain.

In everything we do, we live and breathe our four core values of collaboration, integrity, delivery and being straightforward.

Who can bank with us

Allica will not provide banking services to any business that is heavily involved in industries we deem as harmful, such as extractive industries or animal testing.

We will also only lend to businesses where we have gained confidence that they will be able to pay us back. The last thing we want is for any of our customers to get into financial difficulty.

Treating customers fairly

The interests of our customers are our top priority, and we will always seek to treat them with honesty, transparency and fairness. Ways we achieve this include:

• Avoiding financial jargon – most of our customers aren’t finance experts so we use straightforward language to make sure they properly understand our products and communications.
• Sharing information – we share all relevant information with customers so that they can make an informed choice.
• Getting regular feedback – it’s important we keep ourselves in check and regularly survey our customers’ experience with Allica to ensure we deliver the best products and services for their needs. Alongside automated feedback tools, such as our ‘Net Promoter Score’ emails, customers can also leave and read reviews on consumer feedback platform, Trustpilot.
• Supporting vulnerable customers – we support our vulnerable customers by training our colleagues on how best to help them and give them the support they need.

Our people

We are committed to creating an internal culture at Allica that lives and breathes our ethics and values. Allica colleagues all receive training on our ethics and values on joining the company and as part of their Annual Mandatory Training.

We believe in creating an inclusive and positive working environment. Discrimination based on gender, race, age, sexual orientation, marital status or nationality has absolutely no place at Allica.

Financial crime

Allica has stringent anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, anti-fraud, and whistleblowing policies and procedures in place to prevent financial crime and related crimes such as modern slavery. We are committed to the absolute highest standards when it comes to operating in compliance with UK law.

Environment and social affairs

Allica acknowledges that we can have a social and environmental impact on our local communities and around the world. We will always aim to make sure that our impact is a positive one.

Climate change is a particular area of focus as the UK aims to transition to a net-zero economy. As a digital bank with no physical branches, we are largely paperless and promote recycling throughout our office space.

Alongside our own contributions to this effort, we will support our customers, colleagues and the wider community in their actions to achieve the same. We also consider the environmental impact of businesses before they become our customer, such as requiring a minimum EPC rating when someone wants a property secured loan.

Charity

We are committed to supporting communities through our work with local charities. Every year we select a charity to support and champion, and arrange various colleague events to raise funds. We also keep a charity log where colleagues can share any charitable work they do.

Tax

We do not do anything in our tax affairs that runs contrary to either the letter or spirit of UK tax legislation.

Leadership

The Board is accountable for our ethics policy, keeping our business practices in line with it, and ultimate oversight of our policy decisions. Our Executive Committee are responsible for implementing our policies and ensuring that a responsible approach is adopted when making decisions.