The BankTrack human rights benchmark reports
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark series evaluates commercial banks globally, with a global and regional focus including Latin America, Asia, and Africa. It assesses 50 of the world’s largest private sector commercial banks against the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, examining policy commitments, due diligence, reporting, and remedy processes to ensure compliance with human rights standards.
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OVERVIEW
This is the BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark, first initiated in 2014. The benchmark evaluates the world’s largest private sector commercial banks against the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). These principles, endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, are the global standard for businesses to understand and manage their human rights impacts.
The benchmark assesses banks across five categories: policy commitment, human rights due diligence processes, reporting, access to remedy, and response tracking. The assessment is based on publicly available information such as human rights policies, reports, and other relevant disclosures. Each bank receives a score, and based on this score, they are categorised as ‘laggards’, ‘followers’, ‘front runners’, or ‘leaders’.
The purpose of this benchmark is to track the banking sector’s progress in implementing the UNGPs and to identify areas where improvement is needed. For finance professionals, this benchmark serves as a valuable tool to understand how banks are managing their human rights risks and impacts. It can inform investment decisions, engage with banks on their human rights performance, and advocate for stronger human rights due diligence in the financial sector.
