* Sees 24 pct rise in UK loan book, up from earlier forecast
* Says customers more attuned to its ethical focus
By Olesya Dmitracova
LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Ethical lender Triodos expects the loan book of its British arm to grow by a quarter this year as the financial crisis prompts more people to use a lender focused on helping society, it said.
Triodos, headquartered in the Netherlands, predicted that its UK loan portfolio will rise to 257 million pounds ($423 million), accelerating last year's 13 percent growth rate.
Triodos invests only in companies and projects that are both sustainable commercially and provide sustainable benefits to society, such as organic farms, wind turbines and fair trade businesses, and is benefiting while big commercial rivals have faltered.
"I think a lot of people ... are now much more receptive to thinking about some of the things which we have been doing and so we've seen a big influx of customers based on the savings side and on the business side," said James Vaccaro, who heads investment banking at Triodos.
Last year Triodos, overall, grabbed a quarter more customers and grew assets under management by 13 percent to 3.7 billion euros ($5.1 billion).
Most of the organisations the bank's British branch lends to are growing, especially the renewable energy and social housing sectors, a spokesman for the bank said.
Thanks to that strategy, Triodos has sidestepped the troubles that befell mainstream banks and the wider economy, both derailed by losses on complex investments.
"If you don't actually do something which is of value to people in a deeper way, then the chances are (it's) not great for long-term success," Vaccaro told Reuters by telephone from Bristol in the south-west of England.
"There has been a fundamental re-awakening that actually, banking is a greater part of our life and a societal question, not just something we do to facilitate getting cash out of a cash machine or help buy a house," he added. ($1=.6080 Pound) ($1=.7197 Euro) (Editing by Simon Jessop)