Our 2016 successes and highlights
As the end of 2016 approaches, we’d like to share with you once more what kept us busy over the last twelve months, and what we have achieved with our work, in collaboration with our many work partners from all over the world. Take a look, and if you appreciate the work we do, please consider making a seasonal donation, or better even, become a regular supporter. As the examples below show, your donation would be supporting an organisation that gets things done. And, as ever, please get in touch with any comments or feedback you might have.
Help us make 2017 even more successful!
With season's greetings and best wishes from the BankTrack team:
Johan, Karen, Ryan, Yann, Greig, Erik and Raymon
January
Equator Principles campaign launch
We launched the Equator Principles Track and Chase project, and held a meeting with the EP steering committee in London to present them our agenda for change.
March
Deutsche Bank finally realises blowing up mountains for coal is “not sensible”
At the German bank’s shareholder meeting, it announces an end to its finance for mountaintop removal, after years of campaigning – joining the majority of big European banks. The bank was a big financier of this very not-sensible practice.
JP Morgan makes new coal commitments
The US investment banking giant promises a transition away from financing for coal mining companies, and an all-out end for financing of new coal mines.
May
FMO "seek to exit" Agua Zarca
After the appalling murder of Indigenous human rights defender Berta Caceres, Dutch development bank FMO bowed to pressure and committed to exit finance for the hydroelectric plant, against which Berta had led the struggle.
International appeal on Rampal
We launch a major international appeal to Ex-Im Bank of India not to finance the Rampal coal power plant in Bangladesh, which threatens the Sundarbans mangrove forests and threatens the livelihood of two million people, as well as rare tiger habitat.
HSBC challenged over Drummond finance at AGM
The British banking giant comes under pressure for its finance for Colombian “blood coal” at its annual meeting, following our briefing exposing the bank’s finance for US coal company Drummond and the bank's refusal to provide a meaningful public response on the issue.
June
Shorting the Climate
With Rainforest Action Network and others, we publish the seventh annual Fossil Finance Report Card, “Shorting the Climate”, showing how major banks are pouring hundreds of billions into extreme fossil fuels. The report makes waves with coverage in the Financial Times and some high-profile tweets.
45 banks benchmarked on human rights
We release the second “Banking with Principles?”, showing slow progress by the world’s biggest banks towards implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, five years on from their publication.
Red lines set down for pulp and paper finance
We published “Green Paper, Red Lines” together with the Environmental Paper Network, establishing requirements for financiers of the pulp and paper industry if they are to avoid harm to people and the environment.
September
Green Bond abuses exposed
We uncover how Ex-Im India was using finance from its “green bond” issuance to pay for essential railway infrastructure for the Rampal coal power plant.
October
Crédit Agricole and Société Générale announce end to financing coal power projects
The French banks announced improved coal policies – although they seem determined to finance a few more before the policy kicks in.
November
New site launch
We launch our new website, after a major overhaul aimed at providing a sleeker and easier-to-use platform for our database of bank and dodgy deal profiles, reports and news.
BankTrack’s first campaigners’ gathering held
Our three-day bank campaigners’ gathering in Gorssel, deep in the Dutch countryside, creates a platform for 60+ campaigners from Europe, the US, China, Mozambique, Indonesia and Australia to share their bank campaigning plans and strategies. Good times - we’re still washing the camp fire smell out of our clothes.
“Still Coughing up for Coal” launched
Together with our partners we publish a report, timed to coincide with the climate conference in Marrakesh, analysing the coal policies in place at 22 major commercial banks, showing that these banks’ failing efforts are undermining the aims of the Paris Agreement.
December
Over 500 groups pressure banks on Dakota Pipeline
We help coordinate a major push to tell the 17 banks behind the DAPL to halt further disbursements on the loan until issues are resolved to the full satisfaction of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The New York Times covers the role of the Equator Principles in the deal.
HSBC excludes finance for new coal mines
The UK bank commits to no pure-play new coal miner clients – although it is in no hurry to distance itself from its existing ones.