South Africa’s banks are not passive participants in the transition. With R9.2 trillion in assets, their lending decisions help shape the direction and pace of the economy. All five banks assessed in this report recognise climate change as a material issue, and have policies, targets and governance structures intended to manage it. But across the three editions of How cool is your bank?, the commitments have accumulated faster than evidence showing that capital is moving in response.
This edition, therefore, looks beyond whether banks have made commitments. It asks whether those commitments are specific enough to test, strong enough to change financing decisions, and transparent enough for shareholders and other stakeholders to hold banks accountable.
The results show a sector that has made progress; but not consistently, or at the pace required. Not one bank performs strongly across the full framework. The biggest gaps arise where climate commitments must translate into measurable changes in financed emissions, meaningful restrictions on fossil fuel financing, credible transition finance, and governance mechanisms that create accountability
