Explore the full Amazon Banks Database and Banks vs. The Amazon scorecard.

Read the press release in Spanish | Read the press release in Portuguese

Ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the first COP to be held in the Amazon, new data shows that banks have added $2 billion of direct financing for destructive Amazon oil and gas since the beginning of 2024. Itaú Unibanco, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America are the worst performing banks, while BNP Paribas and HSBC have policies that have led to measurable improvements. Detailed financial deal data is released alongside the first-ever Banks vs. the Amazon scorecard.

Based on 843 deals involving 330 banks, research reveals that banks have directly financed over $15 billion to Amazon oil and gas activities since the Paris agreement was adopted in 2016. Just 10 banks, including JP Morgan, Itaú, Citi, Bank of America, and HSBC are responsible for nearly 75% of that financing.

Martyna Dominiak, Stand.earth Senior Climate Finance Campaigner, and lead author of the scorecard, said: “The Banks vs. The Amazon scorecard and Amazon Banks Database update present not only a clear opportunity but an urgent deadline ahead of COP30 for banks to stop financing fossil fuels in the Amazon. For Indigenous Peoples resisting extractivism — and their allies — the region’s first climate COP is a pivotal moment demanding an Amazon free from fossil fuels.”

Oil and gas expansion in the Amazon endangers one of the world’s most vital ecosystems and Indigenous Peoples who have protected it for millennia. In addition to fossil fuels leading global greenhouse gas emissions, in the Amazon their extraction also accelerates deforestation, and pollutes rivers and communities. 

Despite this and COP30, countries like Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru are moving in the wrong direction, auctioning dozens of new oil blocks across the rainforest. By financing these projects, banks are fueling both the climate crisis and the destruction of the Amazon, instead of backing the just energy transition urgently needed.

The most recent data (January 2024 – June 2025, totalling $2 billion) reveals that several banks have significantly increased direct financing, including: Itaú, Scotiabank, Credicorp, Banco Interamericano de Finanzas, and Bank of America. By contrast, HSBC, Santander, and BNP Paribas show flat or declining financing.

Over 80% of recent financing went to just six oil and gas companies: Canadian Gran Tierra, Brazilian Petrobras and Eneva, oil trader Gunvor, as well as the companies behind the controversial Camisea gas project, Hunt Oil Peru and Pluspetrol Camisea. These companies are often associated with human rights violations, corruption, litigation, and Indigenous Peoples’ resistance.

Brazilian bank Itaú is the #1 largest financier of Amazon oil and gas for 2024-2025, mainly because of its financing of Eneva, despite claims to support “the region’s socioeconomic development and environmental conservation,” along with Santander and Bradesco. Meanwhile, Itaú continues to tout its sustainable profile in Brazil, a clear example of greenwashing. 

Dr. Devyani Singh, lead researcher for the database and scorecard said: “Our research reveals that although European banks like BNP Paribas and HSBC applied more robust policies to protect the sensitive Amazon rainforest than their peers, significantly dropped in financing ranks, no bank has yet brought its financing to zero. Every one of these banks must close the existing loopholes and fully exit Amazon oil and gas without delay.”

Banks vs. the Amazon Scorecard 

• The Banks vs. the Amazon scorecard is the first-ever tool ranking 18 major banks: the top 10 financiers of oil and gas in the last 10 years, as well as banks that have adopted Amazon-specific policies, and offering targeted recommendations for each bank. 
• The analysis finds that only robust, effectively implemented, corporate-level policies can stop destructive fossil financing.

Olivia Bisa, president of the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Chapra Nation (Peru), said: “It’s outrageous that Bank of America, Scotiabank, Credicorp, and Itaú are increasing their financing of oil and gas in the Amazon at a time when the forest itself is under grave threat. For decades, Indigenous Peoples have suffered the heaviest impacts of this destruction. We are calling on banks to change course now: by ending support for extractive industries in the Amazon, they can help protect the forest that sustains our lives and the future of the planet.”

Ingry Mojanajinsoy, President of the Association of Inga Councils of the Municipality of Villagarzón Putumayo – ACIMVIP (Colombia), said: “Oil companies like Gran Tierra have brought conflict, displacement, and loss of culture to our territory. Despite years of our resistance, Gran Tierra continues to expand, threatening our very way of life. Banks that finance Gran Tierra must stop immediately. We have never given consent for oil to be drilled on our lands.”

Jonas Mura, chief of the Gavião Real Indigenous Territory (Brazil), said: “Eneva has caused many damages in our territory. The noise, the constant truck traffic, and the explosions have driven away the animals and affected our hunting. Even worse: they are entering without our consent. Our territory feels threatened, and our families are being directly harmed. Around 1,700 Indigenous people live here, and our survival depends on the forest. We ask that banks such as Itaú, Santander, and Banco do Nordeste stop financing companies that exploit fossil fuels in Indigenous territories. These companies have no commitment to the environment, to Indigenous and traditional peoples, or to the future of the planet. These investments are complicit in genocide: they are killing our culture, our history, and destroying the biodiversity of the Amazon.”

European banks outpace American banks

While banks with corporate-level exclusion policies—France’s BNP Paribas, and the UK’s HSBC, and Barclays—are limiting exposure, gaps remain. Netherland’s ING, despite some relatively strong oil and gas policies, relies only on a project-level Amazon oil trade exclusion, which did not prevent it from financing Gunvor, a trader convicted of bribing Ecuadorian officials.

Spanish bank Santander, under pressure from civil society, recently reduced its financing to Eneva, a Brazilian company ordered by federal court to halt gas extraction on Indigenous Gavião Real land. However, Santander does continue some financing to Eneva, as well as to Petrobras, both expanding their operations in the Amazon.

The path forward is clear: banks must Exit Amazon Oil and Gas, and implement Amazon oil and gas financing exclusion policies, to help avert Amazon’s imminent tipping point.

Notes to the editor: 

Experts and spokespeople are available for interviews.

Explore the full Amazon Banks Database and Banks vs. The Amazon scorecard.

Methodology: The Database and Scorecard use the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) database, cross-referenced with IJGlobal database. A handful of bank decision-makers featured in the scorecard were offered the opportunity to review the findings, as well as meet directly with researchers for opportunities for consultation.

This news release was originally posted on the Stand.Earth website here.