ThirdValue.com, the web platform of social lending of Banca Prossima (Intesa Sanpaolo Group), financed the hundredth project thus reaching 10 million euro lent since the start in 2011. The announcement was made today on the occasion of the conference Social aims of finance. Exploring alternative business forms for durable financial services promoted by the Compagnia di San Paolo at the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Turin.
The platform of Banca Prossima, a bank of the Intesa Sanpaolo group specializing in the Third Sector, makes it possible to borrow money at extraordinarily favorable rates from citizens for the realization of a project, such as the transformation of an oratory, the construction of a swimming pool or a wing of a school.
The mechanism is simple: Banca Prossima grants the loan allowing those who receive it to involve private lenders at conditions much better than those of the market or even at zero interest. By agreeing to reduce the loan, the bank offers the "citizen banker" a full capital guarantee.
It is therefore a winning solution both for the citizen, who experiences a new form of support, and for the non-profit, which obtains money at much better conditions than those on the market. The experience of 100 financed projects shows that the citizen - free from risk - almost always decides to lend at zero interest, maximizing the advantage for the non-profit organization and strengthening the community bond with it.
"Third value is a solution that is good for everyone both financially and on the community level, cementing the relationship between a third sector organization and society. This fiduciary bond is true 'Third Value' of the social economy; we at Banca Prossima try to take this into account and increasingly base the granting of credit on it. In the great change awaiting Italian welfare, this will be the enabling element. Spontaneous loan formulas exist, but the intervention of Banca Prossima and Intesa Sanpaolo offers maximum protection, transparency and full compliance with current rules", he has declared Marco Morganti, managing director of Banca Prossima.
The 100th fundraising has allowed the acquisition of CasaTo, a building in the Barca district in Turin, by the Arcobaleno cooperative. With the loan, the property will be purchased, renovated and destined for the workers members according to the principles of social housing.
