Inside the world’s largest climate coalition for banks, there’s speculation that an exodus led by Wall Street could be about to spread to the European Union.
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance, an organization dedicated to decarbonizing global finance, may be facing defections by some large EU banks with sizeable US exposures, according to a person close to the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The risk of being accused in the US of having an anti-oil bias appears a key concern among the banks, the person said.
EU exits from NZBA would mark a painful milestone for the group. In the US, where President Donald Trump’s reelection has brought with it intensified political attacks on net zero policies, banks have had to navigate a landscape in which NZBA commitments have come with the risk of lawsuits and GOP blacklists. In the EU, meanwhile, net zero has been enshrined in law and the bloc’s banks stand out as some of the world’s most climate conscious.
A spokesperson for NZBA said the alliance is committed to supporting its remaining members, without commenting on possible EU defections. This moment calls for “long-term work that requires courage, consistency and true leadership to stay on track, even when faced with barriers to action,” the person said.
BNP Paribas SA, the EU’s biggest bank by assets, was questioning the value of continued NZBA membership as recently as June, according to another person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations. The bank is reluctant to create headlines by leaving, however, and back in June discussed postponing a formal decision until around the end of the year, the person said. A spokesperson for BNP declined to comment.
Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s largest lender, is “monitoring current developments and will assess them,” according to a spokesperson, who added that the bank’s own sustainability and net zero targets remain unchanged.
A spokesperson for Spain’s Banco Santander SA said it’s still committed to net zero but declined to say whether that includes remaining an NZBA member.