Half of UK financial services workers now expect company leaders to deprioritise ESG and DEI commitments

Finance professionals in the UK now expect their companies’ leaders to focus less on sustainability and diversity commitments in the future.

The findings from CRIF, Europe’s leading provider of consumer and credit information, show that more than half (56%) of senior financial professionals in the UK now believe their leadership will place less focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles over the next five years.

As part of ESG principles more generally, when asked about commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), a similar proportion of professionals (54%) felt these would also become less of a focus in the near future.  

While losing focus on ESG initiatives raises clear concerns from ethical and environmental perspectives, most professionals acknowledge that ESG (69%) and DEI (68%) practices remain increasingly important to attracting and retaining customers.

The data informs the first of CRIF’s Banking on Banks report series for 2025, which explores the biggest changes to the financial services sector across the last decade, drawing on views of both consumers and senior financial services professionals working in the UK, and the majority also serving European markets.

While financial services professionals believe their leadership will become less focused on ESG and DEI principles, 45% of European consumers are also worried that financial institutions will backtrack on diversity and ethical principles due to changing attitudes in the US, rising to more than half (55%) for those aged 18-34.

With more than 2.7 billion tons of carbon emissions now attributable to the major banks of G7 countries - more than the emissions of Germany, France, the UK and Italy combined - the financial sector has understandably paid greater attention to ESG in recent years, with European banks having led this charge by offering greener products and solutions, improving energy management, as well as waste and water management.

Equally, in terms of DEI, initiatives such as the Women in Finance Charter, created in 2016, now also exist to address the underrepresentation of women in senior managerial roles within the financial services sector in the UK.

As with other aspects of their lives, consumers are increasingly using products that align with their values, and ethical financial services are no exception. Around half of Europeans (47%) now say they are more likely to use a bank or insurer that promotes DEI, again rising to six in 10 (59%) for those aged 18-34.

CRIF’s second Banking on Banks report, which is due to be published later in the year, will look at the trends and issues that are expected to shape European financial services in the decade ahead.