BANKS DODGY DEALS CAMPAIGNS
Sections
Banks Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate
Banks and Human Rights
Banks and Nature
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA
Banks and Russia
Banks and Steel
Tracking the Equator Principles
Tracking the PRBs
Find a Better Bank
Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Raiffeisen Out! Bank.Green End Coal Finance Plastic Banks Tracker Defund TotalEnergies Financial Exclusions Tracker Equator-Complaints.Org Don't Buy into Occupation Banks & Biodiversity Forests & Finance Drop JBS StopEACOP Fossil-Free Finance
BankTrack
About BankTrack Organisation Our team Our board Our annual reports Funding and finances Guiding principles Our history BankTrack in the media Team up with us Our privacy policy Donate Visit us
Successes Contact BankTrack
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter Linkedin Login
Home › Partner news ›
Partner News

RAN translates banker-speak

2011-06-07 | United States
By: Amanda Starbuck, RAN
2011-06-07 | United States
By: Amanda Starbuck, RAN

Earlier this year, thousands of RAN supporters wrote to Deutsche Bank boss Josef Achermenn to urge that his bank cease financing mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Deutsche Bank have given us their first response, however... it's a little dry. So I'm going to have a go at translating the ‘bankers-speak' into plain English.

Deutsche Bank's words are in italics, my ‘translations' are in bold.

Deutsche Bank regards the responsible treatment of the environment as an integral part of its corporate identity. Within the framework of our certified sustainability management system we take environmental, social and governance issues very seriously, and we therefore take your concerns equally seriously. We have carefully studied your letter and consulted internally with the relevant business units.

Deutsche Bank thinks it is important to be environmentally-friendly, and so we have read and discussed your letter.

Please note that we only do business with companies that fully comply with national and local laws and standards. In 2010, we welcomed the US Environmental Protection Agency's decision to announce a set of actions to further clarify and strengthen environmental permitting requirements. We believe that these new requirements will help to reduce the environmental impacts of mining activities in the US.

We only do business with companies that obey the law and we think that the EPA will make mining more eco-friendly.

Being aware of the possible implications of our business activities, we have integrated environmental, social, and governance aspects in Deutsche Bank's risk management principles and guidelines. We use a systematic due diligence process, starting at the relevant business unit and involving internal control functions such as Compliance, Legal, Credit Risk Management, and Group Sustainability, to assess new clients as well as the engagement in potential business deals. If a case is especially complex and entails substantial risks, the case is escalated to senior management.

Deutsche Bank has a process to examine the environmental, social and legal impacts of new clients and business deals. And, if we spot these risks, then it is up to senior management to judge whether / how we do business.

Deutsche Bank only participates in financing, when the transaction complies with all the Bank's relevant internal standards and when it fulfils legal and regulatory requirements. We have also integrated a "Green Filter" into our Group Reputational Risk Management Program policy, in order to evaluate whether a transaction is in line with the Bank's objective to contribute towards a low carbon society. This approach is particularly relevant in carbon-intensive industries.

Deutsche Bank has a goal to help society reduce carbon emissions and so we look at new clients and deals to see whether this helps us get to that goal.

Business relationships with companies involved in potentially controversial environmental or social practices, are carefully considered and reviewed in depth and a company's environmental, social and governance risks will be assessed against external standards and internal requirements. If gaps are identified, Deutsche Bank will aim to work with the company to improve such practices or policies, or may indeed define conditions which the company must meet before the Bank will enter into a client relationship.

When we spot a company who is not being as environmentally friendly as the law or as Deutsche Bank would like to see, we will try to work with them to improve. We might set a standard for the company to meet before we will do business with them.

We are constantly working towards further enhancing our due diligence process and expertise, and we therefore appreciate your input.

We would like our process to go further, thank you for your comments.

-

Whichever version you read, the bank avoids any mention of mountaintop removal (MTR). But if Deutsche Bank is true to its word, then they should not do business with any MTR company, as they all systematically break the law (see today's article by Ken Ward in the West Virginia Gazette that demonstrates legal compliance is getting worse, not better, in Kentucky).

What do you think of Deutsche Bank's response?

Dodgy Deals
There are no active project profiles for this item now.

Mountain top removal coal mining

United States
Project
On record
Coal Mining

Mountain top removal coal mining

United States
Sections
Banks Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate Banks and Human Rights Banks and Nature
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA Banks and Russia Banks and Steel Tracking the Equator Principles Tracking the PRBs Find a Better Bank Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Raiffeisen Out! Bank.Green End Coal Finance Plastic Banks Tracker Defund TotalEnergies Financial Exclusions Tracker Equator-Complaints.Org Don't Buy into Occupation Banks & Biodiversity Forests & Finance Drop JBS StopEACOP Fossil-Free Finance
BankTrack
About BankTrack Organisation Our team Our board Our annual reports Funding and finances Guiding principles Our history BankTrack in the media Team up with us Our privacy policy Donate Visit us
Successes Contact BankTrack
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands
Contact@banktrack.org
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter Linkedin
©2023 BankTrack
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted