Islington Council appoints new banking services provider

Ethical banking includes, among other things, not being engaged in:

• activities in territories currently under investigation for alleged violations of human rights by the United Nations Human Rights Council;
• other human rights abuses;
• adding to the climate emergency.

Lloyds Bank Plc will provide the council’s banking services for up to seven years once the current contract with Barclays expires at the end of 2026.

The key decision, taken yesterday, follows a transparent procurement process with the strategy informed by a working group of elected councillors from every political group in the council.

There will be no immediate changes for people who make regular payments to the council, but those affected will receive further information later next year.

Councillor Flora Williamson, Executive Member for Finance and Performance, said: “We take Environmental, Social, and Governance matters very seriously, which is why we have one of the highest ethical procurement standards in the country.

“It’s only right that we challenge our banking provider to take ethical banking seriously, and we set that out as one of the key elements to consider when assessing who to bank with once the current contract expires.

“The procurement also assessed them on other quality criteria including service delivery and relationship management, alongside cost and the delivery of social value in the borough.

“This approach reflects our robust policy on human rights abuses and builds on our significant, ongoing work to reduce the carbon footprint of our pension fund.”

Notes to editor

Following a migration process, Lloyds Bank Plc will provide banking services for up to five years from 1 February, 2026, with an option to extend for a further two years.

The decision was taken on Thursday, 18 December by the council’s Acting Corporate Director of Resources, Paul Clarke. It is subject to a call-in period before it can be implemented.

The council’s banking team will meet with Lloyds representatives every three months to review contractual performance.

The background papers to the decision are available here: https://democracy.islington.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=32371&PlanId=185&RPID=44992079