Australia’s big banks have slashed exposure to fossil fuel companies by almost a fifth in 2017, including a 50% drop in their coal mining exposure, as investors and regulators ramp up pressure over climate change risks.Westpac fossil fuel exposure fell by a third to $5.5bn.
ANZ fell by 12.2% to $12.9bn, a fall of 50% in past 2 yrs.
NAB exposure fell in all sectors except for oil and gas where it increased by $3.1bn to $7.4bn. It is understood this occurred because of a short-term financial product, rather than a loan. (Whatever that means! ).
CBA exposure was $9.5bn, which is a fall of about a fifth. They don’t publish like-for-like data which prevents an exact comparison. However, coal exposure is falling and will continue to do so.
Read more: Banks slash coal loans by 50 per cent as investor pressure mounts | SMH
