30 October 2016 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is the fifth largest retail bank in Australia and among the top 100 ASX-listed companies. They have a fairly clean record when it comes to fossil fuel investments as they don’t lend to projects in the coal and coal seam gas sectors. But … Read More
Major banks are failing Vietnam by violating Equator Principles commitments in financing coal power projects
2018 The Equator Principles (EPs) are a global set of voluntary standards that financial institutions sign on to – so that in financing large scale projects, they don’t harm people and the environment. Market Forces, working with Vietnamese community organisations and other international NGOs, has found that EP signatory banks … Read More
WIN! Standard Chartered rules out new coal…. everywhere!
25 September 2018 Standard Chartered bank today updated its policy on lending to power generation, ruling out new coal power plants anywhere in the world. It confirmed the bank would no longer directly finance “any new coal-fired power plant projects, including expansions, in any location”. This marks a massive shift … Read More
Media Release: Standard Chartered offers leadership on coal and climate change in key energy markets
Tuesday 25 September, 2018: Responding to the news that Standard Chartered has ruled out finance for “any new coal-fired power plant projects, including expansions, in any location“, Market Forces Executive Director Julien Vincent said: “This is what leadership on coal and climate change looks like. Decisions about how the world sources … Read More
Suncorp continues to divest from fossil fuels
20 September 2018 Today Suncorp demonstrated it has climate change firmly on its agenda and confirmed it continues to divest from fossil fuels. The company is one of Australia’s largest insurance providers, a sector recognised as highly exposed to the physical risks posed by climate change, such as weather-related catastrophes. Earlier this year, … Read More
Market Forces files complaint over Japanese banks’ coal lending breach of OECD guidelines
18 September 2018 Market Forces has made complaints against Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Mizuho Financial Group (Mizuho) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) to the Japanese National Contact Point (NCP) today. The complaint alleges that the three banks have breached the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) through their conduct … Read More
Ad urging Standard Chartered to stop funding dirty coal published across Asia
23 August 2018 Today, with the help of community donors and partner organisations, Market Forces published a full-page advertisement in the Financial Times Asia, urging Standard Chartered Bank to stop funding new coal-fired power plants. Click here to email Standard Chartered urging them to stop lending money to new coal Copies … Read More
ANZ finance the purchase of Rio’s last coal mine
5 April 2018 ANZ has contributed to a US$1.7 billion (AU$2.2 b) deal to finance the purchase of Rio Tinto’s last coal asset by Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy and private equity manager EMR Capital. The deal comes despite ANZ’s repeated claims that the bank’s lending to coal is on its way … Read More
Australian bank policies still lag international peers
The fossil fuel lending policies of Australia’s big four banks have once again been found to fall short of international expectations. In the latest Banking on Climate Change Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card, only NAB’s coal mining policy, announced last year, scored higher than a C-. While it’s worth acknowledging … Read More