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How it works

How we look at each bank.

Responsible banking comes down to two questions. Is your bank moving money away from coal, oil and gas and towards renewable energy? And does it lend to the people and places around it? Each bank page answers both, side by side.

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Responsible banking

Two principles. Equal weight.

We keep them separate and never merge them into one score, so you can decide what matters most to you.

Environmental responsibility

Moving money away from high-emission sectors like coal, oil and gas, funding renewable energy, and being open about both.

Rated from Advanced to Lowest rated

Social impact

Lending to small businesses, homes and farms, and serving communities that are often left out, for example as a community development lender.

From public data on each institution’s lending

Environmental responsibility

Five ratings, from Advanced to Lowest rated.

Each institution gets one of five ratings. A rating can change when the evaluation behind it is updated.

These labels are Bank for Good’s own wording, based on Bank.Green’s evaluation, which rates banks Great, Good, OK, Bad or Worst.

  1. AdvancedExtensive evidence found of sustainable banking practices.
  2. StrongClear evidence found of sustainable banking practices.
  3. DevelopingSome evidence found of sustainable banking practices.
  4. Early stageLimited evidence found of sustainable banking practices.
  5. Lowest ratedVery little evidence found of sustainable banking practices.

Behind the rating

What goes into the rating.

All from public information, such as financial statements, annual and sustainability reports, and the institutions’ own websites.

  1. 01

    Lending

    How much goes to coal, oil and gas companies and projects, compared with renewable energy, including bonds it holds from coal, oil and gas companies.

  2. 02

    Disclosure

    Whether it measures and publishes the emissions linked to its lending.

  3. 03

    Policies and targets

    Whether it has a published policy on lending to coal, oil and gas, petrochemicals included, and targets to cut the emissions linked to its lending.

  4. 04

    Certifications

    B Corp certification and membership of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values add to the score.

Publishing too little information to assess can lead to a lower rating.

This rating covers energy financing only. That is why social impact sits alongside it.

The full methodology is published by Bank.Green. Read it on bank.green.

Social impact

Who your bank lends to.

From public data. Banks are compared with banks, and credit unions with credit unions.

  • Where its loans go

    How its lending divides between homes, apartment buildings, businesses and commercial property, construction, farms and consumer loans. From the quarterly reports every bank files with the FDIC and every credit union files with the NCUA.

  • Above-average lending

    Shown when the share of its loans going to small businesses, homes or farms (or, for banks, state and local governments) is above the average for institutions of the same type.

  • CDFI

    Certified as a Community Development Financial Institution by the CDFI Fund of the US Department of the Treasury.

  • MDI

    On the FDIC’s list of Minority Depository Institutions, or the NCUA’s list for credit unions, using the regulator’s own description.

  • Low-income designation

    Shown when the NCUA has designated a credit union as low-income.

  • Where its deposits are held

    For banks, the states where it holds deposits and the share held in each, from the FDIC’s annual Summary of Deposits.

Our directory

Who makes the list.

No advertising, sponsorship or paid placement.

  • Advanced or Strong

    Listed.

  • Developing or Early stage

    Listed when certified as a CDFI, recognized as an MDI, or lending above average in at least two areas.

    Banks: small business, homes, farms, or state and local governments, compared with community banks. Credit unions: business, homes or farms, compared with all credit unions.

  • Lowest rated

    Not listed.

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On this site, “bank” and “banking” are short for banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, and what people do with them, such as keeping a deposit account, taking out a loan or opening a credit card.