When banks commit to the Equator Principles, says Flaherty, “they’re not voluntary internally at all”. And as soon as a bank starts incorporating these principles into contracts with clients, these voluntary guidelines become legal requirements.

But critics think that the principles still do not go far enough on disclosure. The revised principles require Equator Principles Financial Institutions (EPFIs) to report the number of deals approved and their level of risk, for which there are three categories.

But banks do not have to publish information on their risk assessments of specific projects. The reason, they claim, is that the release of social and environmental details would compromise the commercial confidentiality of individual projects and clients.

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