...more than 40 international financial institutions have committed to financing only those projects that comply with the Equator Principles (EP), a set of voluntary environmental and social standards that seek to uphold the rights of people displaced by projects and to protect endangered ecosystems. Signatories, including...ABN AMRO, HSBC, Barclays, Crédit Lyonnais [part of Crédit Agricole], Credit Suisse Group, Dresdner Bank [part of Allianz] and Royal Bank of Canada, sometimes co-finance projects with public multilateral lenders such as the World Bank in mining, oil, gas and related sectors...The IFC...called on other...banks in emerging markets such as those in China and India, to also adopt the Equator Principles...Non-governmental organisations...have complained that their most significant proposals to create robust governance and compliance systems, including an accountability mechanism, were not taken up in the guidelines. Environmentalists...say that committing to the principles still doesn't mean that those banks will be either transparent about the projects they fund or that they will cease funding harmful projects. [also refers to Calyon, Botnia, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland]