A few years ago, I was a Ph.D. student at University College London. I was working on how blood flow affects inflammation of blood vessels, an important topic for Aneurysm and Atherosclerosis treatment.

The schedule was tough. I was at work 9 am-8 pm, seven days a week looking after my cell cultures and developing software for our analyses, all in the hope that my efforts would improve and lengthen lives in the future.

Yet I was just about scraping by.

At the same time, I had friends working similar schedules at banks making many times my salary. And what did they need when they were sick? The medicine produced off the back of research people like me were doing! It didn’t feel quite right.

Strangely enough, it was a visiting pharmaceutical rep who clarified things for me. He was at the lab to try and sell us equipment, but all I really remember from his visit is this: In passing, he told me, ‘If the big banks donated 1% of their profits to scientific research, cancer would be cured today.’

Of course, there is some simplification to this statement. It was part of his sales spiel. But there is also a core kernel of truth - there is banking and corporate money out there that could easily be invested into STEM research, but instead, it goes straight into private pockets.

I was acutely aware of the many issues, medical, environmental, social, that could be solved by an injection of cash into the underfunded world of STEM.

Soon, I got sick of being angry. I had to change things. And I was in a position to do so. I could combine the source of money, a bank, with Science!

That’s when Science Bank was born.

We can’t change what all the big banks are doing (not yet at least), but we can create a new model for a mission-driven bank that gives back to science.

Science Bank is going to make a stand. We’re putting research over bonuses.

How does a normal highstreet bank operate?

We can take a look at Barclays as an example.

Barclays Bank made a net profit of £4.3 billion in 2019. Most of this went to shareholders and bonuses, as well as making huge stock buybacks.

And if only 5% of the profits of four of the top banks (HSBC UK, Lloyds,Barclays and standard+chartered) were instead funneled towards STEM research, it would result in a whopping 13% jump in UK scientific research funding.

Breaking that down to brass tacks, the big banks could sponsor up to 360 research projects per year.

Can you imagine the kind of breakthroughs that might lead to?

But we stand out because we have a mission. We’re here to advance society by investing in science, technology, and ultimately help build a sustainable future.

Every year Science Bank will accumulate an investment pot derived from our revenues and customer contributions. The investments will then be distributed to various research projects by our scientific committee, which will consist of 20 academics of high stature in national academies.

What does that mean for our customers?

Every one of our customers will feel secure in the fact that they are doing good with their money, even when it is sitting safely in a bank account.

On top of that, they will be offered the chance to own shares in any companies that emerge from the research we fund.

We also plan to add unique cashback opportunities with tech companies and universities, the ability to invest in a broad spectrum from startups to stocks to crypto, and lastly offer accounts in stablecoins that will enable almost instant currency changes.

At this moment we are not selling anything, and we are before our first round of talks with potential investors. And that's where I need some help. The more subscribers we have, the better we will look.

So, if you want to support us visit Science Bnk - (science-bnk.com) and subscribe. We won't spam you!