The Net-Zero Banking Alliance announced on 3 October 2025 that it would cease operations after a member vote, bringing to a close the United Nations-backed initiative that had once assembled more than 140 banks in a shared commitment to align their lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions pathways. The dissolution followed the closure of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance in 2024 and the suspension of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative's activities in January 2025.
The vote followed a wave of member departures. US banks left first: Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase all left between December 2024 and January 2025, followed by Canada's six largest banks. HSBC, Barclays and UBS subsequently followed suit.
BACKGROUND
At its peak following its launch in 2021, NZBA attracted more than 140 member banks. The alliance required members to set intermediate and long-term targets to reduce the carbon intensity of their lending portfolios, with public target-setting and annual reporting requirements intended to guard against greenwashing.
MEMBERS BACKED SHIFT TO A FRAMEWORK
In August 2025, ahead of the member vote, NZBA had put forward a proposal to transform itself from a membership-based body into a framework initiative. In the vote, whose result was announced on 3 October, members approved that proposal, transitioning from a member-based alliance to publishing its guidance as a framework, and NZBA ceased operations immediately; its target-setting guidance remains publicly available.