Over the past two years, major Swedish banks have lent an additional 60 billion kronor to expanding fossil fuel companies, including oil companies that are searching for more oil and gas further north in the Arctic. This is revealed by a new report by Fair Finance Guide and its Nordic partners. During 2024 and 2025, Nordea and SEB provided nearly 14 billion kronor in new loans and financing to oil companies expanding their operations in the Arctic. Nordea accounts for 7.4 billion kronor, while SEB has lent 6.5 billion kronor. The banks’ loans have continued despite EU explicitly opposing new oil and gas extraction in the Arctic.

It is remarkable and unreasonable for Swedish banks to finance new oil extraction in the Arctic while the climate crisis intensifies. This undermines our ability to meet climate goals. Nordea and SEB must immediately stop supporting this, says Karin Lexén, Secretary General of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen) which is one of the organisations behind the report.

The banks support companies seeking to open the world’s northernmost oil fields

The Swedish funding has gone to the two most active oil companies in the Arctic: the Norwegian firms Equinor and Aker BP. Meanwhile, the EU clearly opposes new oil and gas extraction in the Arctic.

“This goes against the banks’ own climate pledges. I believe many Swedish bank customers will be upset. After all, it is their money being used to provide loans to the oil companies,” says Jakob König, who leads Fair Finance Guide in Sweden.

Risk of infringing Sámi rights

The expansion of the oil and gas industry in the Arctic also poses significant risks to the Sámi people living along the coast of the Barents Sea in Northern Norway. Sámi livelihoods—such as reindeer herding, hunting, and fishing—depend on functional ecosystems. Oil spills and the extensive infrastructure required by the oil industry could have major consequences for Sámi territories.

“The Arctic is not an oil reserve. It is a place where people live, with reindeer grazing lands and fishing waters where Sámi livelihoods have been practiced for generations. Banks should not finance projects on Sámi lands for which we have not given our consent,” says Aslak Holmberg, President of the Sámi Council in Finland (SSG), who authored a case study included in the report.

Handelsbanken and Swedbank stand out positively

The assessment shows, however, that two of the largest Swedish banks – Handelsbanken and Swedbank - have in principle stopped their fossil financing. Handelsbanken has maintained zero lending to fossil fuel companies and Swedbank also stands out positively, with significantly lower lending to the fossil fuel sector compared to the other banks. Swedbank has also achieved the largest reduction in fossil-related lending among all the banks.

“Many of their bank customers will likely be pleased about this. In this way, their banks can contribute to solutions to the climate crisis rather than being part of the problem,” says Jakob König.

The report Banking on thin ice - fourth edition can be downloaded here.