What does NZBA Exit mean for UBS’ Sustainable Finance Goals?

The landscape of sustainable finance is undergoing a critical shift. 

In 2025 multiple leading financial institutions, now including UBS, have chosen to withdraw from the United Nations-backed Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a move that has stirred debate around the future of collective climate action in banking. 

Yet, despite departures, banks are insisting their commitment to sustainability remains unwavering.

UBS’s NZBA departure

UBS, the latest bank to exit the group, has reiterated that its ambition to lead in sustainability is unchanged. 

Its strategy is built on three core pillars - protect, grow and attract - and is designed to integrate climate risk and opportunity considerations across its global operations. 

This client-first approach is aimed at supporting businesses in understanding and navigating the implications of a low-carbon transition.

As a founding member of the NZBA in 2021, UBS joined during a period when the finance industry was still shaping decarbonisation frameworks for financed emissions. 

However, with its internal capabilities now matured and the groundwork laid, UBS has decided to exit the NZBA, a global decision aligning with other financial peers.

“With that work advanced and with our in-house capabilities strengthened, we have decided to withdraw from the NZBA, like a number of our global peers,” says UBS in its official statement.

“Our commitment to sustainability remains unchanged and we recognise the importance of an orderly transition to a low-carbon economy.”

The bank remains focused on long-term impact, particularly through climate-informed investments and stress-testing frameworks. 

Its withdrawal from the NZBA reflects not a retreat from ambition, but a strategic pivot toward autonomy and operational agility.

"Our sustainability and impact strategy is based on three strategic pillars: Protect, Grow and Attract," writes Colm Kelleher, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Sergio P. Ermotti, Group CEO of UBS, in the 2024 UBS Sustainability Report.

Barclays’ NZBA exit

Barclays, another major player in global finance has also left the NZBA while reaffirming its net zero by 2050 target and US$1tn climate finance mobilisation goal.

"With the departure of most of the global banks, the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition," says Barclays in a formal statement.

Despite stepping back from the alliance, Barclays continues to prioritise:

• Supporting clients on decarbonisation strategies
  
  
• Financing clean energy and climate innovation
  
  
• Scaling transition finance solutions
  
  
• Enabling secure, sustainable energy systems.

In 2024, Barclays reported around £500,000 (US$664,000) in revenue from sustainable and transition finance activities, an indicator of growing demand and profitability in the green finance space.

Unpacking the NZBA exodus

Founded in 2021 under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), the NZBA initially brought together 43 institutions with the aim of aligning banking portfolios with the Paris Agreement. 

At its peak, membership rose to 144 banks, representing US$42tn in assets.

"NZBA’s strength lies in the commitment of its member banks to lead the net zero transition," says a NZBA spokesperson.

"This long-term work requires courage, consistency and true leadership to stay on track, even when faced with barriers to action.

"As we look ahead, NZBA remains focused on supporting the many committed banks driving this transformation forward.

"The need for bold action from the banking sector has never been greater and NZBA is here to help deliver it.”

Triodos Bank is also one of the banks to recently depart the NZBA.

"Remaining a member under these less stringent guidelines and seeing what we have achieved over the years being watered down, would not align with our own climate ambition and commitment to combatting climate change," says Triodos Bank. 

Is sustainable finance at a crossroad?

The trend of high-profile withdrawals from global climate alliances reveals a deeper tension within sustainable finance, between collaborative governance and operational independence, between public accountability and strategic flexibility.

HSBC, which also exited in 2025, cited the need to focus on its internal net zero roadmap, while delaying key climate targets and altering executive incentives in the process. 

Political dynamics, including pressure from US lawmakers and the re-emergence of fossil fuel expansion agendas, have also added complexity.

What’s clear is that leading banks are not abandoning their climate goals, they are recalibrating how they deliver on them.

Whether through proprietary frameworks or renewed stakeholder engagement, the likes of UBS and Barclays are pursuing more tailored, agile approaches. 

They say that they remain committed to helping clients navigate the transition to a net zero economy, but on their own terms.