1.3 Scope of policy
Does the bank's policy commitment stipulate the bank's human rights expectations of personnel, business partners and other parties directly linked to its operations, products or services - including the bank's client and investee relationships?
About the data
The BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark is an independent assessment of the world’s largest commercial banks, measuring how they respect human rights in their policies, practices, and business relationships. Built on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the benchmark evaluates banks across key themes, including policy commitments, due diligence, remedy, and specific issues such as the protection of human rights defenders, free, prior, and informed consent, and environmental rights.
Why this metric is important: Most of a bank’s significant human rights impacts are likely to stem from its core activity, its provision of finance. This requirement tests whether a bank’s human rights policy is broadly applied, particularly in relation to the bank’s financing activities, including its lending, underwriting and asset management. It is important to note that guidance from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OECD has made clear that the responsibility to respect human rights also extends to minority shareholdings, and to situations where a bank acts as a custodian of shares, but is not the beneficial owner.
Why this metric is important: Most of a bank’s significant human rights impacts are likely to stem from its core activity, its provision of finance. This requirement tests whether a bank’s human rights policy is broadly applied, particularly in relation to the bank’s financing activities, including its lending, underwriting and asset management. It is important to note that guidance from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OECD has made clear that the responsibility to respect human rights also extends to minority shareholdings, and to situations where a bank acts as a custodian of shares, but is not the beneficial owner.
Methodology
Requirements for full and half score:
Full score: The bank's human rights commitment extends to its provision of finance, as source of the banking sectorʼs most significant potential human rights impacts, alongside personnel and other parties such as suppliers.
Half score: For example, the bank's human rights commitment extends to some but not all of its finance (e.g. asset management is excluded). Or, the bankʼs commitment extends to its provision of finance, but does not meet the standard of a commitment to respect human rights in 1.1.
Full methodology can be found in the report.
Full score: The bank's human rights commitment extends to its provision of finance, as source of the banking sectorʼs most significant potential human rights impacts, alongside personnel and other parties such as suppliers.
Half score: For example, the bank's human rights commitment extends to some but not all of its finance (e.g. asset management is excluded). Or, the bankʼs commitment extends to its provision of finance, but does not meet the standard of a commitment to respect human rights in 1.1.
Full methodology can be found in the report.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
Partially
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed