Purpose – The aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis has accelerated a pre‐existing process of ethical approach in the banking industry. Today, all banks claim to be socially, environmentally and economically committed with the philosophy of sustainable finance. The purpose of this paper is to show that, beyond the outward similarities, there are three different types of banking approach, each reflecting a distinct business model: banks whose ethical/social approach is mainly based on what they say, represented by universal banks; banks whose ethical/social approach is based on what they are, essentially the co‐operative banks; banks whose ethical/social approach is based on what they do, the so‐called ethical banks. Design/methodology/approach – The paper bases its argument on the German banking industry, which is a big European country with a fairly diversified banking sector. The paper examines three types of sources for each of the above‐mentioned categories of banks: the social and environmental reporting, the conformity or not with the principles of the social and solidarity‐based economy and the different types of financial activities as reflected in their balance sheet. Findings – The paper concludes that more ethical behaviour leads to both economic performance and social gains which increase wealth for all partners. Research limitations/implications – The proposed methodology could be extended to other European banking systems to discuss their implications as regards corporate social responsibility. Practical implications – This contribution will help the reader to evaluate banking communication as regards corporate social responsibility in their daily activity. Originality/value – This research will give an insight based on the documents published by banking institutions to measure their implication on corporate social responsibility.