If I Knew Then: Bevis Watts

Dr Bevis Watts is the new UK managing director of sustainable bank, Triodos Bank. As a Chartered Environmentalist and ex-Wildlife Trust CEO he’s an unusual choice for a lead executive but has been appointed as part of a deliberate strategy to refocus finance to promote positive change in society.

Bevis has a history of positive environmental and societal impacts over a multi-sector 20-year career. In his role at the Avon Wildlife Trust he turned around a declining membership, growing the profile and land holdings of the charity, while at Triodos from 2008-2012 as head of business banking he trebled lending and commitments to sustainable businesses. At the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) he designed financial and business support schemes to stimulate growth in the UK recycling market, resulting in nearly £40m of new private finance.

At Triodos he hopes to be an exemplar in creating trust between banks and the general public by committing to transparent and prudent behaviours, focusing less on profit and more on responsibility to customers and society.

How did you start Triodos Bank? 

I joined the bank for the first time to head up business banking in 2008. The opportunity to lead an organisation very close to my heart, Avon Wildlife Trust, was one I couldn’t refuse, and so I left in 2012 to take up my first CEO role.

I believe now is the time we can make real changes to banking to better serve our own futures and the natural world. It’s a sector that I believe really needs to work harder to serve society so when Charles Middleton retired, I returned as managing director.  

If you knew then what you know now, what mistakes might you have avoided? 

I don’t really believe in mistakes – we all make choices and decisions every day based on what we know and believe in that moment. Everything that happens has its positives, and every experience develops you and your organisation.  

What advice would you have given yourself when starting out? 

Trust and follow your instincts and treat everyone as you would wish to be treated.  

If you knew then what you know now, would you still be sitting there?

Yes! Now more than ever I realise how banking undermines the sustainable goals I have spent my whole career working towards. Money is a great form of democracy and every pound we spend and save is a vote for our values. A bank is like pooling those votes and we should all question what banks are doing with our money and whether they are using it to create a society and environment that we want to live in.

What do you know now that you didn’t know then?

Sometimes things will happen that you can’t control, but they won’t necessarily have a negative impact on your business or organisation. The financial crisis of 2008 was one such moment, and yet Triodos Bank thrived because we had a different business model to the other banks. We only lend a proportion of the funds entrusted to us where other banks had lent far more than their balance sheets could actually fund and borrowed from other banks. We were in a strong place, and subsequently, people trusted us. We could carry on lending and actually trebled our lending in the five years that followed.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received so far? 

Follow your heart; use your head.

What is your business highlight? 

Being a part of Triodos Bank trebling the size of our loan book in the five years that followed the financial crisis. We only invest in businesses or organisations that are good for people and the planet; knowing we were helping others grow during a challenging time was doubly rewarding. 

What is your business lowpoint? 

The financial crisis of 2008 was a real low point for the industry as a whole. That said, the need for transparent and prudent behaviour on behalf of banks is something that has been highlighted since, which can only be a good thing. We’ve a part of our website called ‘Know Where Your Money Goes’ and the details of every single loan we make can be found there.

What keeps you awake? 

Most recently, the kittens that I looked after for my neighbours while they were on holiday. 

What’s changed from when you started out?

We’re living in an increasingly uncertain and changing world where climate change, an increasing social divide and new threats to human health are very real. These are all things that will force us to think collectively about the systems we need to support our own future wellbeing – including changing our financial systems.

In the last few years the interest around banking has changed from seeking to mitigate and avoid repeating the financial crisis to questioning whether banks are really serving society and what they should or could be doing. That creates a big opportunity for Triodos.  

What’s still on your to-do list? 

My guilty pleasure is that I’m a dive master and love spending time under water so diving in Galapagos would be top of my bucket list!  

What’s next for Triodos Bank?

Triodos Bank isn’t just a bank – we’re changing the way banking is done. Right now, we’re a savings and investment bank. However, mid-2017 will see us launch a current account for personal customers. That’s hugely exciting as we will then be able to look after the day to day banking needs of both existing and, hopefully, many more new customers, who want to use money for good.

It’s no accident that the UK branch of Triodos Bank is based in Bristol – it’s a pioneering city with many organisations and individuals based here that have championed sustainability for years. I’m really hopeful that those in the city will support us next year and be some of the first to sign up as we launch the new account to the market.       

Read more:  The Rise of Bristol – success but not yet shared