By Abubakar Yunusa
Nigerian banks have recorded poor performance in environmental, social and governance standards, a new report by the Fair Finance Nigeria Coalition has revealed.
The report, unveiled on Thursday in Abuja, scored leading banks an average of 1.7 out of 10 across more than 400 global sustainability criteria.
The coalition, which includes BudgIT, Policy Alert, CISLAC, Connected Development (CODE), STEPS and Oxfam, described the performance as alarming.
The assessment covered Access Bank, Standard Chartered, United Bank for Africa and Zenith Bank.
Speaking during the unveiling, Country Director of Oxfam Nigeria, Ahmed Hamza Tijani, said the findings exposed serious gaps in corporate accountability within the banking sector.
He said, “Finance is not neutral; every loan and investment shapes lives, communities and ecosystems. Yet Nigerian banks are falling drastically short of global ESG standards.”
The report highlighted that all the assessed banks scored zero on tax transparency, failing to disclose country-by-country revenues or clarify links to tax havens.
It added that such opacity undermines global anti-money laundering frameworks and weakens efforts to prevent illicit financial flows.
On climate action, the banks averaged 0.9 out of 10, with continued financing of high-emission sectors such as oil and gas without clear transition strategies.
The coalition also noted weak commitments to human rights, biodiversity protection and host community safeguards in the banks’ investment portfolios.
Despite scoring highest at 2.7, Standard Chartered was said to have benefited mainly from global policies, with limited clarity on local implementation in Nigeria.
The group further criticised the 2012 Nigerian Sustainability Banking Principles, describing them as outdated and inadequate for addressing emerging risks.
It called on the Central Bank of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and Bank Directors Association of Nigeria to urgently convene a multi-stakeholder roundtable.
The coalition urged banks to adopt stronger sustainability policies, improve ESG disclosures and move beyond what it termed “tick-box” compliance.
It added that enhanced transparency and governance would not only reduce financial and reputational risks but also position Nigerian banks to attract global investment and sustainable finance partnerships.
Programme manager at Oxfam Nigeria, Henry Ushie, said
the exercise was not aimed at targeting any bank but to draw attention to gaps and encourage compliance with global standards.
He called for stronger regulatory oversight and improved alignment with international ESG frameworks.
While Standard Chartered recorded the highest score at 2.7, the coalition noted that the performance was largely driven by its global policies, with limited clarity on local implementation.
The group urged the Central Bank of Nigeria and other stakeholders to review the 2012 Nigerian Sustainability Banking Principles and strengthen ESG compliance across the sector.
In his remarks, Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said the findings showed that Nigerian banks were highly exposed to environmental and social risks.
He warned that failure to act could worsen inequality and environmental degradation, urging regulators to enforce stricter compliance.
The coalition maintained that the banking sector’s influence could either drive sustainable growth or deepen existing socio-economic challenges, stressing the need for immediate action.
