ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Climate First Bancorp – the holding company for Climate First Bank, the nation’s leading full-service, FDIC-insured commercial bank focused on environmental sustainability – today announces the purchase of the climate and social justice fintech platform developed by the startup Ecountabl. The platform indexes data on over 10,000 companies, analyzing their environmental, social and governance performance to help customers track how their purchases with brands align with their personal values. The purchase, which closed on Oct. 31, 2022, will accelerate growth and strengthen the core capabilities of OneEthos, the digital banking fintech under the Climate First Bancorp umbrella.
"Banks should make it easy for people to spend their money in ways that align with their social and environmental values,” said Ken LaRoe, Chairman and CEO of Climate First Bancorp. “This acquisition strengthens how OneEthos and Climate First Bank leverage technology and innovation to bring remarkable value to our customers, communities and other stakeholders.”
OneEthos is in the process of integrating Ecountabl technologies into its core platform for use by Climate First Bank customers in 2023. As a result of the acquisition, two Ecountabl co-founders joined the OneEthos team. Andy Burr, Ecountabl Chief Executive Officer, was named Chief Growth Officer of OneEthos. Additionally, Justin Bretting, Ecountabl Chief Technology Officer, was named Chief Technology Officer of OneEthos.
“The award-winning platform developed by Ecountabl is the future of sustainable digital banking,” said Marcio deOliveira, co-founder and CEO of OneEthos. “We are excited to bring Andy and Justin on board at OneEthos and make these technologies available to digital banking customers at Climate First Bank and other financial institutions in the future.”
“We founded Ecountabl to enable financial institutions to better serve their customers,” said Burr. “This acquisition ensures the technologies we built will have a positive impact in the world. We’re thrilled to join OneEthos and continue to build groundbreaking, climate-positive digital banking solutions.”
OneEthos provides Climate First Bank with a full range of mission-aligned fintech solutions, including financing for climate-positive technologies, online and mobile banking and climate performance measurement and reporting. Climate First Bank began using OneEthos’ digital solar lending platform earlier this year, helping the bank reach more than $200 million in assets and exceed $140 million in loans in the first 12 months of operation.
Stay tuned for the latest updates, and to learn more visit climatefirstbank.com and oneethos.com. A OneEthos fact sheet and additional information about Ecountabl is available here.
About Climate First Bank
Climate First Bank is a values-based community bank offering a complete, full-service portfolio of simple and easy-to-use traditional banking products. These products are powered by high technology to meet the expectations of today’s consumers. In addition to offering standard banking services, the company places a special emphasis on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and businesses committed to sustainability. Eco-conscious customers will find dedicated loan options for solar photovoltaic (PV), energy retrofits and infrastructure to help combat the climate crisis. Member FDIC.
About OneEthos
OneEthos is building the world’s most sustainable digital banking solutions. Founded in 2022 under the Climate First Bancorp umbrella, OneEthos is developing a groundbreaking fintech platform that unites best-in-class financial technology innovation with the proven capabilities of Climate First Bank, the nation’s leading FDIC-insured commercial bank focused on environmental sustainability. OneEthos is providing Climate First Bank with a full range of mission-aligned solutions, including digital financing for climate-positive technologies, online and mobile banking and climate performance measurement and reporting. Its solutions are designed to serve the climate-positive digital needs of other community banks, credit unions, state and local “green” banks, CDFIs and fintech providers in the future.
Media Contact
Ericka Rivera
Uproar PR for Climate First Bank
erivera@uproapr.com