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JPMorgan, Mizuho and Bank of America have been named as the top financiers of the fossil fuel industry in 2023 according to a study conducted by a coalition of climate campaigners led by the Rainforest Action Network.
RAN’s 15th annual Banking on Climate Chaos report reveals that the world’s 60 largest lenders collectively provided around $6.9tn to the industry in the eight years since the Paris climate accord. Last year alone, these banks extended around $705bn in financing to fossil fuel companies.
JPMorgan committed $40.8bn to fossil fuel companies in 2023, making it the top lender for the year and since the Paris agreement, according to RAN’s research. JPMorgan was also the largest financier of companies expanding their fossil fuels activities last year, while Citi ranked first since the signing of the Paris Agreement, despite its financing reducing over the last two years.
In addition, the report found some notable shifts in financing trends. Investments in gas-fired power, Arctic oil and gas and ultra-deepwater oil and gas projects declined, while financing for liquefied natural gas companies saw an increase.
The methodology behind RAN’s latest report has been updated to include banks’ involvement in corporate finance deals, such as bonds, loans, and share issuances, even if they were not the main bookrunner. Previously, the reports relied on credit rankings from Bloomberg as the data source.
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Chinese insurer Ping An has sold around 5.56mn of shares in HSBC days after it voted against the re-election to the board of departing CEO Noel Quinn.
The transaction, valued at $50mn, reduced the insurer’s stake in HSBC from 8.01 per cent to 7.98 per cent. Despite reducing its stake, Ping An remains one of HSBC’s largest shareholders, holding a stake valued at $13.2bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In recent years, the relationship between HSBC and Ping An has been contentious. At the bank’s general meeting in 2023, Ping An attempted to spin-off HSBC’s Asian business without success. The majority of HSBC’s shareholders voted against the proposal.
The insurer lodged a protest vote against Quinn’s leadership at the bank’s annual general meeting last week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The vote came days after he shocked the business world with the announcement of his retirement from the lender.
“HSBC is our long-term financial investment,” Ping An said in a statement on Friday. “The bank has maintained a unique competitive advantage in Asia. We are confident of its long-term development.”
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The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has announced plans to issue Rmb30bn ($4.15bn) worth of total loss-absorbing capacity bonds on May 15, representing the first such issuance by a Chinese bank.
China’s major state-owned lenders are facing increasing pressure to raise capital, particularly to support the economy, property developers and local-government financing vehicles.
ICBC, the world’s largest bank by assets, said it would issue Rmb20bn allocated for a tranche of four-year bonds redeemable after three years, and Rmb10bn for six-year bonds with conditional redemption after five years.
The proceeds from the issuance are intended to improve the bank’s total loss-absorbing capacity, with the issuance period scheduled from Wednesday to Friday this week. TLAC bonds, which are excluded from a bank’s capital base, can be written off or converted into common equities during the disposal phase.
Designated as global systemically important banks, five of China’s largest state-owned banks, including ICBC, are increasing their efforts to comply with stricter global regulatory rules on capital buffers.
According to a report from Reuters, they have collectively announced plans to issue a total of Rmb440bn of TLAC bonds this year to address their capital shortfalls.
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ANZ Group disclosed in a statement on Monday that Australia’s financial regulator is investigating the lender for suspected violations of laws related to the issuance of 10-year treasury bonds by the Australian Office of Financial Management in 2023.
The bank was appointed by the AOFM, which manages the Australian government’s debt portfolio, to act as a risk manager for the issuance of the treasury bonds.
As reported by the Australian Financial Review, citing sources familiar with the matter, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission began its investigation after receiving a complaint from the AOFM, expressing concerns about the way in which some of its debt was sold.
“ANZ understands that ASIC is investigating suspected contraventions of a number of provisions of the ASIC Act and the Corporations Act,” the statement said.
ANZ added that it is committed to complying with its regulatory obligations and is fully co-operating with the regulator.
