"New analysis shows bank responses to human rights enquiries worsening", BankTrack Blog, 11 November 2025

A new update of BankTrack’s Response Tracking database shows that bank responses to letters from civil society groups raising human rights issues are getting worse, not better. However, it also highlights a few positive examples of banks taking their responsibility seriously by clarifying their links to companies and communicating how they are seeking to address human rights impacts and risks.

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[...] Out of the 126 letters added to the database, mostly sent since mid-2024, banks responded in 79 cases. However, of these, the great majority were non-scoring responses, meaning banks simply confirmed receipt or described general policy approaches which are already in the public domain. These are responses that neither discuss the substance of the issues raised, nor acknowledge the bank’s link to the impact discussed. Only six responses (under 5%) received any points at all.

[...] The database also shows that many banks are inconsistent when it comes to whether and how they respond.

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Many banks cite “client confidentiality” as an excuse not to address the issues raised, although there are steps banks can take to overcome this. [...].

However, this excuse is used inconsistently, with some banks sometimes commenting specifically on their link or alleged lack thereof to the project, or on the project itself. Société Générale is an example of this discrepancy, [...] citing a policy of “not providing information regarding specific companies or operations” to refrain from commenting on more recent cases. Standard Chartered and SuMi Trust have also at times claimed confidentiality concerns, and at others, responded directly on their financing of specific companies.

ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Société Générale all previously claimed they were unable to comment on specific customers for reasons of client confidentiality, but were able to provide specific details regarding the Lefa gold mine project. The context of Russian sanctions against Lefa’s owner, Nordgold, might have made better quality responses easier for banks to sign off internally.