Banking On It

There are those who see environmental challenges like global warming as an economic crisis. Others see it as a golden opportunity. Increasingly, it seems, more and more money is migrating to the latter camp.

A few days ago I put something in here from the NY Times about the so-called "philanthropeneurs" -- people in whom the entrepreneurial impulse is wedded to a green and/or progressive social agenda. The story begged the question: Where do green start-ups, especially the little guys, go to get bankrolled? This morning, one of the people I carpooled into the city with pointed out to me the just-opened New Resource Bank, a lending institution devoted, from its inception, to the development of clean technologies and catering to green businesses and entrepreneurs.

Joel Makower, the green biz blogger, wrote about the bank's business model here. Founder and vice chairman Peter Liu told Makower:

Oftentimes there are boxes that banks put things in, and they haven't created a box for 'organic' or 'renewable,' where they can understand the credit needs of these businesses ... They may understand real estate, but they don't understand that there are other things that can have cash flow, like energy projects.

That's where New Resource comes in, with a brand tailored to forward-thinking green enterprise. According to this report in the San Francisco Business Times, the new bank has hit the ground running, with many big names on board and no shortage of eager investors lining up behind it. In fact, the bank raked in nearly $25 million in equity capital in just two months, ultimately turning away another $10 million. That's a lot of simoleons, and I'm betting it's the smart money.