Published: September 30, 2020
Unity Trust Bank has appointed TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, to its board as a Non-Executive Director.
Unity Trust Bank is the independent commercial bank for small and medium-size firms and organisations who pursue societal & environmental benefits with sustainable returns.
Frances O’Grady said: “Unity challenges ideas of what banks do and why they do it. The loans they make are transforming lives by creating decent work and improving communities. I look forward to helping Unity bring banking with a conscience to more organisations and businesses.”
Unity Chairman, Alan Hughes, added: “We’re delighted that Frances has agreed to join Unity’s board. Frances engages with people and politicians from all backgrounds without compromising her principles of decency, fairness, equality and her desire for an economy that works for everyone. No more so than recently with her influence on the Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and safety measures. Her values resonate perfectly with Unity’s purpose.”
Frances O’Grady is the first woman to become General Secretary of the TUC. She is a member of the Government’s National Retraining Partnership and a Non-Executive Director of the Bank of England’s Court of Directors. She has been at the centre of campaigns for equal rights for part-time workers and against low pay and led on industrial policy arguing for a strategic approach to rebalancing the economy.
Unity was founded by the Trade Unions in 1984 to serve the common good. The Bank’s philosophy is unchanged. Today, it is growing at over 25% per annum. It supports SMEs and other organisations who share its double-bottom-line philosophy of sustainable returns with social or environmental benefit. It has strong capital ratios and returns.