Pakistani Banks Struggle with Climate Policy Adherence and Biodiversity Protection

Recent Study Reveals Shortcomings in Pakistani Banks' Climate Policies

In a shocking revelation, a recent benchmark released by Fair Finance Pakistan indicates that seven major banks in Pakistan have significantly underperformed in their climate and biodiversity policies. The banks, which include notable names such as Allied Bank, HBL, and Standard Chartered, received an average score of only 1.12 out of 10 for climate policies and a dismal 1.69 for biodiversity efforts. These findings raise serious concerns about the sustainability commitments these financial institutions claim to uphold.

Analysis of the Findings

The assessment, launched on October 13, 2026, highlights a disturbing contrast in the performance of banks in relation to their own operations versus the projects they finance. While the average positive policy coverage for banks' operations stands at 75.4%, only 23.1% of their financing efforts are covered by similar sustainability policies. This discrepancy suggests a lack of accountability in how banks approach financing decisions that impact environmental and social outcomes.

The study was conducted using Fair Finance Guide International’s methodology, under the leadership of Dr. Abid Aman Burki. It assessed major banks including MCB, Meezan Bank, National Bank of Pakistan, Standard Chartered Pakistan, and UBL. Notably, none of the evaluated banks achieved more than 42% of the maximum possible score, with MCB and National Bank scoring an alarming zero on biodiversity metrics. Other banks such as HBL and Meezan also scored below 2, while Standard Chartered and Allied Bank managed somewhat better scores of 5.31 and 3.05, respectively.

Calls for Accountability

Asim Jaffry, Country Program Lead at Fair Finance Pakistan, emphasized the need for banks to enforce accountability much like they do with borrowers. He stated that a mere sustainability statement is insufficient and that banks must adopt rigorous lending safeguards to truly protect the environment and the communities they serve. According to Jaffry,