A coalition of civil society organisations has criticised Nigeria’s top commercial banks over poor performance in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, revealing that they collectively scored an average of 1.7 out of 10 in a recent global-style assessment.
The group, Fair Finance Nigeria (FFNG)—which includes BudgIT, Policy Alert, CISLAC, CODE, STEPS, and Oxfam—made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja while presenting findings from what it described as Nigeria’s first detailed ESG policy review of major financial institutions.
The assessment focused on Access Bank, Standard Chartered, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Zenith Bank, benchmarking them against over 400 international sustainability indicators.
Presenting the findings through a statement delivered by Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) on Thursday in Abuja, the coalition said the results highlight serious shortcomings in transparency, accountability, and risk management across the banking sector.
“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.”
According to the report, significant deficiencies were observed in key areas such as tax transparency, climate responsibility, and corporate governance practices.
On taxation, all four banks received zero scores, with the coalition citing a lack of openness regarding country-by-country earnings and their links to entities operating in tax havens.
“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 finance 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 coalition said.
The report also raised concerns about the banks’ climate policies, noting a low average score of 0.9 despite Nigeria’s exposure to climate risks.
“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,” it stated.
In addition, the coalition criticised what it described as inadequate protections for human rights and biodiversity in the banks’ financing activities.
“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.”
Reacting, Oxfam Nigeria’s Country Director, Tijani Hamza Ahmed, said financial institutions must take responsibility for the broader consequences of their operations.
“Nigerian banks have massive influence; their choices can either accelerate inequality and environmental harm or drive a just and sustainable future. Right now, they are failing that test,” he said.
“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.”
Among the institutions reviewed, Standard Chartered posted the highest score at 2.7, a performance largely linked to its global policy framework, although the coalition questioned how effectively such standards are applied within Nigeria.
The group also took aim at the 2012 Nigerian Sustainability Banking Principles (NSBP), describing them as outdated and no longer fit for purpose.
It urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN), lawmakers, and bank executives to convene a broad stakeholder forum to reform ESG regulations in line with international best practices.
The coalition further called on banks to go beyond symbolic compliance and demonstrate genuine accountability in their financing decisions.
The assessment was based on publicly available policies of the four banks and scored them across multiple ESG indicators on a scale of 0 to 10, where 1.0 represents full commitment and 0.0 indicates no evidence of compliance.
