Guilty! Majority of Singaporeans believe their banks are greenwashing

Around half of consumers enjoy the availability of green financial services.

Approximately 68% of Singaporeans believe that their banks are "greenwashing", or over-emphasizing the green status of their programmes, according to a survey by Mambu.

"Singaporean consumers are concerned about the motives of banks introducing green or ethical programs, with more than two-thirds (68%) believing their current financial institution is guilty of greenwashing. However, despite this skepticism, 50% of Singaporean consumers say the availability of green financial solutions has become more important to them over the past five years, and 45% would switch banks to access a green financial service. So banks really need to focus on improving communication, empowering consumers, and incentivising their customers to help build credibility to their sustainability initiatives," said William Dale, Mambu commercial director in a press statement.

Despite this skepticism, 73% of Singaporean consumers say they want their banks to become more sustainable in the future.  

However, 45% of Singaporeans still do not understand the difference between "green finance", which targets environmental protection, and the more general term of "ethical finance."

The adoption of green finance is also far from becoming mainstream, with only 27% of Singaporean consumers knowingly using a sustainable banking product or service. This is only slightly higher than the 26% global average.