Several continue to lend to companies that exploit the Arctic • “The hunt for more oil must be stopped”
After protests from thousands of customers, Swedbank has decided to stop lending money to oil companies, just as Handelsbanken did five years ago.
At the same time, SEB, Nordea and Danske Bank continue to give billions in loans to companies looking for more fossil deposits.
– This hunt for more oil and gas must be stopped, both for the sake of the environment but also for the sake of the climate, says Jakob König, project manager at Fair Finance Guide.
In total, SEB, Danske Bank and Nordea have given SEK 60 billion in loans to companies in the fossil fuel industry over the past two years. SEB has lent SEK 30 billion, Danske Bank SEK 16 billion and Nordea SEK 15 billion.
– We have decreased by more than 75 percent in our lending to the oil and gas sector in the last five years, says Karl-Oskar Olming, head of sustainability strategy and policy at SEB.
Why haven’t you gone down to zero?
– We are still in a society that is dependent on fossil energy and a change is really necessary. But we can’t do it without it being responsible and orderly, because then we can disrupt socially important functions, says Karl-Oskar Olming.
Loans to companies that exploit the Arctic
SEB and Nordea have also lent money to companies that drill for oil and fossil gas in the Arctic. Jakob König, project manager at Fair Finance Guide, believes that it is particularly serious.
– It is an area with an extra sensitive environment and difficult weather conditions where an accident has very large consequences. So it is clear that this hunt for more oil and gas is something that must be stopped, both for the sake of the environment but also for the sake of the climate, he says.
The customers’ protests paid off
Two years ago, when the review was published last time, many customers contacted Swedbank and protested. It has now paid off, according to the Fair Finance Guide.
– The bank has now chosen to listen to its customers and has chosen a greener path, stopped these loans and in this way they can become a clearer part of the solution to the climate crisis, and I think a lot of their customers appreciate that, says Jakob König.