Active
This profile is actively maintainedActive
This profile is actively maintainedWebsite | https://www.mizuhogroup.com/ |
Headquarters |
1–5–5, Otemachi, Chiyoda–ku 100–8176
Tokyo
Japan
|
CEO/chair |
Masahiro Kihara President & Group CEO |
Supervisor | |
Ownership |
listed on NYSE, Osaka Securities Exchange & Tokyo Stock Exchange
Mizuho's shareholder structure can be accessed here. |
Mizuho Financial Group is one of three Japanese megabanks, along with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. Mizuho offers a broad range of service including banking, trust banking and securities, and other business related to financial services. Under the umbrella of the holding company Mizuho Financial Group, their major group companies include Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Trust & Banking and Mizuho Securities. Muziho Bank became a signatory of the Equator Principles in October 2003, and was the chair bank of the Equator Principles Association from May 2014 until April 2015.
Mizuho's most important sustainability commitments can be found at the website sections listed below.
Mizuho Financial Group is linked to a number of companies and projects that BankTrack considers controversial (so called Dodgy Deals), e.g. as a current or past financier or through an expression of interest. The profiles below provide more details on the nature of Mizuho Financial Group's link to these deals.
The dark side of US LNG
The Dark Side of US LNG is the result of a field mission to the United States to uncover the strong and growing ties between Italy, and in particular Italy's largest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo, and the American liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. Interviews by ReCommon. Filming, editing and music: Carlo Dojmi di Delupis. www.recommon.org
Mizuho is a member of the Japan Center for Engagement and Remedy on Business and Human Rights (JaCER), which operates a grievance mechanism based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the “Engagement and Remedy Platform”. Individuals and communities affected by the bank’s finance can report human rights grievances here. Stakeholders may also raise complaints via the OECD National Contact Points (see OECD Watch guidance).
Mizuho is an Equator Principles signatory. While the Equator Principles have no official grievance mechanism, complaints relating to this bank's financing of Equator Principles projects can be filed through our own website www.equator-complaints.org.
This page evaluates Mizuho Financial Group's responses to instances of alleged human rights violations linked to its finance, raised by civil society organisations. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but covers selected impacts raised by BankTrack and other civil society partners since 2016. For the full scoring methodology, see here. For more information about BankTrack's evaluation of bank responses to human rights impacts, see the 2021 report "Actions speak louder: assessing bank responses to human rights violations".
Banks and Climate
The 2024 Banking on Climate Chaos report showed that Mizuho Financial provided US$ 272.477 Billion in financing to the fossil fuel industry between 2016 and 2023. In 2023 only, Mizuho Financial provided US$ 18.81 Billion for oil, gas and coal companies expanding fossil fuels. Find further details on Mizuho Financial fossil fuel portfolio and how it compares to other large banks globally on Fossil Banks No Thanks and in the Banking on Climate Chaos report.
Partner organisation Reclaim Finance tracks the coal, oil and gas policies of financial institutions, including banks, in their Coal Policy Tool (CPT) and the Oil and Gas Policy Tracker (OGPT). BankTrack works closely with Reclaim Finance and endorses their policy assessments. Find further details on their assessment of Mizuho's fossil fuel policy below.
Banks and Human Rights
BankTrack assessed Mizuho Financial Group in its 2024 Global Human Rights Benchmark, where it achieved 11 points out of 15 and was ranked as a “leader”.
The bank scored 0.5 out of 3 points on the new “specific rights indicators”, which assess how banks address human rights defenders, Indigenous Peoples’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent and environmental rights in their policies and practices.
In addition, Mizuho Financial Group scored 0.11 out of 3 on how it responds to alleged human rights violations linked to its finance, which were raised by civil society organisations. More information is detailed in the “Accountability” section of this profile.
The table below shows BankTrack's assessment of how Mizuho Financial Group has implemented the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Please click on 'expand all details' and 'explanation' for further information on the methodology.
Our policy assessments are always a work in progress. We very much welcome any feedback, especially from banks included in the assessments. Please get in touch at humanrights@banktrack.org.
Global Human Rights Benchmark 2022
Global Human Rights Benchmark 2024
Banks and Nature
Mizuho’s policies for forest-risk sectors (beef, soy, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber and timber) have been assessed by the Forests & Finance coalition, achieving an overall score of 6.9 out of 10 and ranking it as a front runner. Mizuho achieved a score of 4.3 out of 10 specifically for its policies related to the beef sector and 7.5 out of 10 for its policies related to the palm oil sector. In addition, BankTrack and the Environmental Paper Network have assessed Mizuho’s policies related to the pulp and paper sector.
Between 2016 and 2022, Mizuho provided USD 9,221 million in credit to companies operating in these forest-risk sectors and held investments amounting to USD 78 million as of 2022. For more information, see the links below.
Forest & Finance Policy Assessment 2022: Overall scores
A bank can obtain a total of 10 points for the quality of its policies. The total score is based on their scores per sector, weighted against their financing and investment for each sector. For further details on this see here. Based on their overall score, banks are then classified as Laggards, Followers, Front runners or Leaders, as follows:
Forest & Finance Policy Assessment 2022: Beef
A bank can obtain a total of 10 points for the quality of its beef policy. The total score is based on their scores per sector, weighted against their financing and investment for each sector. For further details on this see here. Based on their overall score, banks are then classified as Laggards, Followers, Front runners or Leaders, as follows:
Forest & Finance Policy Assessment 2022: Palm Oil
A bank can obtain a total of 10 points for the quality of its palm oil policy. The total score is based on their scores per sector, weighted against their financing and investment for each sector. For further details on this see here. Based on their overall score, banks are then classified as Laggards, Followers, Front runners or Leaders, as follows:
Tracking the Net Zero Banking Alliance
Mizuho is a member of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and has therefore committed to reduce its financed emissions to net zero by 2050; within 18 months of joining the alliance set interim targets for 2030 (or sooner) for high emission priority sectors, and within 36 months set further sector targets; set new intermediary targets every 5 years from 2030 onwards; annually publish data on emissions and progress against a transition strategy including climate-related sectoral policies; and take a robust approach to the role of offsets in transition plans. BankTrack track's implementation of these commitments in the NZBA compliance tracker.
Banks and Russian Aggression in Ukraine
BankTrack is keeping track of the public response of Mizuho Financial Group to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Mizuho Financial Group did not publicly condemn the war. Mizuho Financial Group is considered by Leave-Russia.org to be "continue operations" in Russia. We consider its exposure to Russia as limited, with over $2.87 billion of financial assets. Mizuho Financial Group supports the Russian fossil fuel industry through investments, loans and underwriting. For further details, see the table linked below.
Banks and Steel
As part of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), Mizuho is required to set interim targets for 2030 for high emission priority sectors. For Mizuho, this includes its lending to the steel sector. You can see Mizuho’s iron and steel decarbonisation targets, and its progress towards meeting them in our NZBA steel targets compliance tracker:
Partner organisation Reclaim Finance’s 2023 report on metallurgical coal financing showed that Mizuho Financial provided US$ 13.7 billion in loans and underwriting to developers of new metallurgical coal between 2016 and 2022. Find further details on Mizuho Financial’s metallurgical coal financing and and how it compares to other large banks globally in the report.
Reclaim Finance tracks the metallurgical coal policies of financial institutions, including banks, in their Coal Policy Tool. BankTrack works closely with Reclaim Finance and endorses their policy assessments. Find further details on their assessment of Mizuho Financial’s metallurgical coal policy below.
According to a report by Reclaim Finance, between 2016 and June 2023, Mizuho Financial Group provided $9.8 billion in finance to the fossil-steel industry, making it the 8th largest financier worldwide. Find further details on Mizuho Financial's steel financing and how it compares to other large banks globally in the report.