Nigerian Banks Score 1.7/10 in Global ESG Stress Test; Coalition Calls for Urgent Overhaul of Outdated Sustainability Rules

ABUJA, NIGERIA – Finance is not neutral; every loan and investment shape lives, communities, and ecosystems. Yet, a groundbreaking new assessment by the Fair Finance Nigeria (FFNG) Coalition reveals that Nigeria's leading commercial banks are falling drastically short of global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, averaging a dismal 1.7 out of 10 as they opt to hide behind outdated regulatory minimums.

The nation's first-ever comprehensive policy assessment evaluated Access Bank, Standard Chartered, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Zenith Bank across more than 400 international sustainability criteria. The results show a banking sector deeply exposed to high-impact risks, yet alarmingly opaque in its practices. The overall average performance across the assessed banks sits at a critically low 1.7 out of 10.

While the assessment notes relatively better performance in internal operational policies, particularly concerning labour rights, gender equality, and anti-corruption, their external financing commitments to protect host communities, the climate, and national revenue remain virtually non-existent.

Key failures highlighted in the report include:

• A Zero on Tax Transparency: All four banks scored an average of 0.0 in the Tax assessment. By refusing to publicly provide country-by-country reporting of revenues and failing to disclose if they fi nance companies operating in tax havens or zero-corporate-tax areas, these institutions operate in the shadows. This severe level of opacity undermines the core principles of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) frameworks and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines, ignoring global standards designed to prevent the siphoning of vital public resources from developing nations.
• The Climate Gap: Despite Nigeria’s extreme vulnerability to climate change, the banks averaged a shocking 0.9 out of 10 on Climate action. The report reveals that banks continue to heavily finance high-emission sectors like oil and gas without publishing credible, portfolio-level transition strategies or requiring client-level emissions reductions.
• Profiting Without Protection: The assessment shows that these banks provide zero or weak commitments to safeguarding human rights, and biodiversity within their wider investment portfolios and corporate supply chains.

"Scoring a 0.0 on tax transparency and a 0.9 on climate change is unacceptable. These institutions are reaping massive profits from high-impact sectors while refusing to be held accountable for the social and environmental footprints of their decisions. This is not just a disclosure gap; it is a failure of leadership in the financial sector."

While Standard Chartered achieved the highest average score (2.7), the coalition notes this is largely due to its global headquarters' commitments. It remains unclear if or how these standards are applied to protect communities and ecosystems in Nigeria.

The current 2012 Nigerian Sustainability Banking Principles (NSBP) are painfully outdated, creating a loophole that allows banks to avoid genuine sustainable operations. FFNG Coalition, comprising BudgIT, Policy Alert, CISLAC, CODE, STEPS and Oxfam, is urgently calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN), National Assembly Committees on the banking sector and bank executives to convene a multi stakeholder roundtable to modernize the sector's ESG frameworks to align with global standards, and demands that banks immediately move beyond ‘tick box’ compliance to genuine corporate fi nance accountability.