The UK’s dirtiest and greenest banks have been revealed in a first-of-its-kind climate performance ranking.
Environmental organisation Bank.Green ranked the 103 financial institutions on a scale from “Great” to “Worst.” And it found that some of those marketing their climate concerns the loudest are the worst offenders. Meanwhile, some unexpected organisations have scored well due to their progressive plans for a fossil fuel-free future.
Each provider has been rated on criteria including whether they lend to the fossil fuel sector, their financial support for renewable energy projects, their measurement and disclosure of financed emissions, and whether they have a clear exclusion policy for coal, oil and gas.
The best available ranking of “Great” was awarded to 14 institutions, while an equal number were rated as “Worst.”
Many of the highest scoring banks such as Triodos (a Good With Money ‘Good Egg’ firm), The Co-operative Bank and Metro Bank have transparent policies against lending to the fossil fuel sector, or business models that preclude it.
But some of the dirtiest banks in the UK own brands that otherwise appear sustainable. For example, First Direct and M&S Bank are wholly-owned by HSBC, one of the worst climate offenders, and Tesco Bank is owned by Barclays, the number one fossil fuel financier in Europe.
Meanwhile, Natwest and Lloyds Bank continue to present a mixed picture. Both have a great ratio of financing renewable energy compared to fossil fuels and have scored highly on other metrics, but continue to provide significant support to the fossil fuel sector.
Bank.Green says that while many banks are ramping down their fossil fuel investments, not enough are ramping up renewable energy lending to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. Nor, it says, are they providing favourable terms for green loans, such as those for electric cars, heat pumps or other fossil fuel reducing opportunities.
The volunteer-led organisation says UK building societies need to be more transparent about banking partners they use to provide savings accounts and other services. In some cases, it found that savings accounts were provided via banks rated “Worst.”
The UK’s dirtiest banks:
| NAME | RATING |
| Bank of London and The Middle East | WORST |
| Barclays | WORST |
| Chase | WORST |
| First Direct | WORST |
| HSBC | WORST |
| M&S Bank | WORST |
| Monese | WORST |
| Moneybox | WORST |
| Tembo/Nude | WORST |
| Saga Savings | WORST |
| Santander | WORST |
| Standard Chartered | WORST |
| Tesco | WORST |
| Weatherbys Bank | WORST |
The UK’s most ethical banks and building societies
TheUK’s greenest banks and building societies:
| NAME | RANKING |
| CAF Bank | GREAT |
| Charity Bank | GREAT |
| Co-operative Bank | GREAT |
| Coventry Building Society | GREAT |
| Ecology Building Society | GREAT |
| Investec | GREAT |
| Metro Bank | GREAT |
| Nationwide Building Society | GREAT |
| OakNorth Bank | GREAT |
| Oxbury | GREAT |
| Tandem | GREAT |
| Triodos | GREAT |
| Unity Trust Bank | GREAT |
| Virgin Money (including Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank) |
GREAT |
Bank.Green’s ratings of all 103 UK banking institutions and full findings, including its methodology, can be found here.
