Overview

• Remaining signatories are voting on a proposal to replace the membership model with a non‑binding guidance framework, with operations paused until the vote concludes at the end of September.
• Departures have stripped the coalition of many marquee lenders, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, with HSBC and Barclays exiting in recent weeks.
• Canadian banks Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, and Toronto‑Dominion also left earlier this year, underscoring the alliance’s sharply reduced reach.
• The NZBA steering group argues the proposed model is best suited to help banks stay resilient and align with the Paris Agreement, and it urges the sector to keep implementing net‑zero plans.
• Critics say shifting to a guidance‑only framework risks weakening accountability and enabling greenwashing, intensifying calls for stronger regulation.