BankTrack is a global network of civil society organisations and individuals tracking the operations of the private financial sector (commercial banks, investors, insurance companies, pension funds) and its effect on people and the planet.
Even after the financial crisis, commercial banks still represent a crucial source of finance for companies and governments, exerting great influence on the operations of their clients and on society as a whole. Our mission is to promote fundamental changes in the operations of these banks so that they, while conducting their business, contribute to the ecological well being of the planet and to offering a decent life free of poverty for all people. As a prerequisite for this, we want banks to be fully transparent and accountable for their activities to all their stakeholders and to society at large.
We have put our resources and minds together to be effective in our work and coherent in our vision, but we remain independent organisations, each with our own way of doing things. For an overview of our members please tick the green button in the menu.
Vision
BankTrack members share the ambition to help contribute to a private financial sector accountable to society at large, whose operations contribute to creating healthy and just societies and preserve the ecological well being of the planet.
The vision of BankTrack is further elaborated in the
Collevecchio Declaration and a number of other publications (look under 'documents' at right side in menu).
Priorities
- Educate civil society on the activities of the private financial sector and its effect on people and the environment
- Organise NGOs into a network capable of influencing the -activities of- the private financial sector
- Conduct research on projects and policy developments within the private financial sector
- Inform the private financial sector on the expectations of global civil society regarding environmentally sound and socially just business practices.
Activities
- co-ordinate and support international campaigns that prevent harmful impacts of private financial sector operations on the environment and people, and that will effect positive changes within the sector.
- strengthen civil society's capacity to monitor and influence the private financial sector by providing policy analysis and research for NGOs, conduct training of campaigners, and direct support for project affected communities.
- function as an international clearinghouse for NGOs for information and strategies on the private financial sector, and as news source for financial press.
- Be the one stop entry for banks to contact environmental, social and human rights NGOs engaged in project and policy monitoring.
