Almost half of respondents to an Oxfam survey said they would consider changing banks if they became aware the bank was behaving unethically.

The survey comes as Oxfam releases its report Still banking on land grabs, which shows that the savings of ordinary Australians are being used by the big-four banks to finance companies connected to land grabs in poor Asian countries, forcing locals off their land with little or no compensation.

The survey of 1,002 adult Australians revealed that:

* 80% believed banks that invest in communities that are harmed should provide compensation,

* 47% said if they became aware a bank was behaving unethically, it would influence their decision to choose that bank for future banking needs,

* 75% said they don't think banks should lend to companies that behave unethically, and

* 55% said they will need a mortgage or bank loan within the next 5-10 years.

The Oxfam report shows that the big-four banks have made progress towards respecting land rights, but none has adopted a zero-tolerance approach. NAB and Westpac have developed new policies for land-related issues, but CBA and ANZ appear to have done little.

The report provides evidence that all of the big-four banks have lent tens of millions of dollars to US agri-multinational, Cargill, even though a subsidiary, Black River Asset Management, is known to have acquired land set aside for small-scale farmers in the impoverished region.