Our major banks in Aotearoa are playing a critical role in keeping the fossil fuel industry afloat by lending and investing billions of our savings in coal, oil and gas companies that have knowingly caused the climate crisis.
Find out if your bank is supporting climate criminals, and switch to a Fossil Free bank!
Click here for a downloadable PDF version (incl. references) of our 2022 Banks Table.
Click here for a screenreader friendly Google Doc version (incl. references).
Do you want to support this campaign further? Here are some actions you can take.
Our major banks in Aotearoa - ANZ, ASB, and BNZ - are playing a critical role in keeping the fossil fuel industry afloat by lending and investing billions of our savings in coal, oil and gas companies that have knowingly caused the climate crisis.
Despite these banks making commitments in support transitioning to a low-carbon economy in line with the Paris Agreement, they have collectively loaned AUD $37.7 billion to the dirty coal, oil and gas industry since 2016.
We've successfully pushed Kiwibank to cut all ties with coal, oil, and gas companies, and commit to never do business with climate criminals. It's time to demand our other major banks do the same.
Let's use our collective power to call on our banks to go fossil free!
To the boards and executive teams at the ANZ, ASB (and its parent company Commonwealth Bank), and BNZ (and its parent company National Australia Bank),
We demand that you deliver on your commitments to keep global warming below two degrees and cut all ties with coal, oil, and gas companies that have knowingly caused the climate crisis.
As banks that claim to be committed to climate action and sustainability, you need to rule out any future lending or investment in coal, oil, and gas companies, and announce plans to rapidly phase out finance to fossil fuel companies and projects. This is the only way you can deliver on your climate commitments to ensure a safe climate future.
We cannot afford to keep bankrolling an industry that is actively fueling the climate crisis. Our savings need to go towards a safe and fair future, built on 100% renewable energy for all.
Some banks may state on their websites (try looking for a page called “responsible investment” or “ethical investment policy”) that they try to avoid or minimise investing in fossil fuel companies. We really appreciate this transparency – but that is not enough. Currently, Co-operative Bank and TSB Bank do not invest in or loan to fossil fuel companies, and many of the Australian-owned banks state that they are not investing companies actively involved in the oil and gas or coal sectors. However, for these banks to commit to full divestment from fossil fuels, they need to implement a policy that rules out any future investment in, or lending to fossil fuel companies. These banks need to make an ethical commitment to rule out investments or lending to fossil fuel companies in a public statement and policy.
Some of the banks assessed in our “Does your bank fund climate change” table are subsidiary companies of Australian banking groups. The table assesses the financial activities and policies of each banking group, rather than the subsidiary companies. This is because current policies, investments, and lending practices are managed at a group level, i.e. by their parent Australian bank.
In our table, however, the banks are primarily referred to by the operating name in Aotearoa as the intended audience for this report is New Zealanders. These are the names of the NZ operating names, and their respective Australian banking groups that they are part of:
Unlike the above, Kiwibank’s corporate responsibility policies (including its Responsible Banking Policy) happen at the company level. Sibling companies like Kiwi Wealth (Kiwisaver fund) have separate responsible investment policies that are not fossil free.
We assessed each of the banks on:
Check out the report that relaunched our banks campaign back in 2018. ‘Bankrolling the Climate Crisis’ exposed the relationship between the fossil fuel industry and our banks operating in Aotearoa.
Please note that the tables in the report are out of date. Please see our 2020 Banks Table for the most up to date information on our banks’ investments in and lending to coal, oil and gas companies.