A new report finds that some banks, despite their supposed commitment to sustainability, are more keen to promote large-scale investments in coal-fired projects.
German green group Urgewald, in collaboration with various South African organizations, released its “Bankrolling Climate Change” report showcasing JP Morgan Chase, Citi Group, and Bank of America (BoA) as the worst “climate killers.” The study examined 93 leading banks throughout the world revealing the financiers that gave the most capital to the coal industry since 2005.
Coming in at number one for the most financial exposure to the coal industry is JP Morgan Chase with a €16.5-billion investment in coal projects. Next is Citi Group with €13.75-billion, followed by BoA with €12.59-billion. A BoA spokesman said to BusinessGreen that the company remained committed to its environmental targets and has launched a “10-year, $20-billion business initiative to address climate change through lending, investments, capital markets activity, philanthropy, and our own operations.”
However, other factors should be taken into account. What should be taken into account are the portfolios of each bank, which may allot for an overall larger financing in various sectors compared to a smaller bank with less capital. What are the specific lending practices for each institution and the amount of green energy companies that sought financial support from the financiers in question? Finally, lending and investments change according to the global economy. With an economic crisis rising to center stage in 2008, banks were forced to tighten lending practices while also many mergers and acquisitions resulted from failing financial institutions which created a shift in overall lending (JP Morgan Chase purchased Washington Mutual, Inc. in 2008 for $1.9 billion; Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch the same year, while Citi Group acquired Wachovia).
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