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 blog ›
Partner News

Who's bankrolling TransCanada?

Banking on TransCanada means banking on Keystone XL
2017-03-24
By: Alison Kirsch - Rainforest Action Network
Who's bankrolling TransCanada? Infographic. (Large version). Photo: Rainforest Action Network
2017-03-24
By: Alison Kirsch - Rainforest Action Network

Today, the Trump administration approved TransCanada’s latest permit to build the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline - a permit which the Obama administration had rejected on climate grounds, after massive public opposition. TransCanada is exploiting this opportunity in its decade-long battle to build this pipeline, which would run from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska — but the pipeline is far from built. Pipelines need permits, but they also need money.

One way TransCanada could build the pipeline is to get a massive loan from a big group of banks to finance this specific project. This is probably not the most appealing option for TransCanada, given the incredible grassroots energy in opposition to the 17 banks who doled out $2.5 billion to build the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). It didn’t work out too well for the banks on the loan, either.

But TransCanada also has revolving credit facilities totaling over $5 billion, which act like a giant credit card for the company that it can use for operating purposes as it pleases. The fact is, TransCanada might not need new financing to build the Keystone XL pipeline — which means the banks financing TransCanada are the banks financing Keystone XL.

The graphic above shows the 21 banks that re-upped this credit as recently as December 2016. Bank of Montreal and JPMorgan Chase are the leads. 16 of these banks are behind similar credit facilities of the companies behind DAPL, while 7 of them lent to the project itself.

Banks like Citibank, Wells Fargo, and TD Bank, who funded the Dakota Access Pipeline, actually renewed their support for TransCanada while Indigenous water protectors and allies were resisting at Standing Rock. These banks should know better.

Tar sands is the worst type of oil for the climate and extraction has contaminated the land, drinking water, and food of First Nations people in Canada. Indigenous leaders from Alberta’s tar sands and down the entire pipeline route have resisted the Keystone XL, while TransCanada has failed to secure their consent for development on their lands. Landowners in Nebraska have also stood strong in opposition against Keystone XL, preventing permits that would allow the pipeline to cross the state.

These banks have a choice: they can walk away from TransCanada, from Keystone XL, and from tar sands. Wall Street lenders and international banks can refuse to profit from climate disaster, and join a collective global effort to build a thriving future.

We are calling on all 21 of these banks to stop banking on TransCanada. Our communities and climate can’t afford it.

P.S. Here’s the full list of 21 banks on TransCanada’s revolving credit facilities:

Alberta Treasury Branches
Bank of America *
Bank of Montreal
Bank of Nova Scotia *
Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ * ❖
Barclays * 
Caisse Centrale Desjardins du Québec
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Citi * ❖
Crédit Agricole * ❖
Credit Suisse *
Deutsche Bank *
Export Development Canada *
HSBC *
JP Morgan Chase *
Mizuho * ❖
National Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada *
SMBC * ❖
TD Bank * ❖
Wells Fargo * ❖

* Also banking the companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline
❖ Direct funder of the Dakota Access Pipeline

This blog is reposted from Rainforest Action Network's The Understory. View the original here.

Banks

Bank of America

United States
Active

Bank of Montreal (BMO)

Canada
Active

Barclays

United Kingdom
Active

Citi

United States
Active

Crédit Agricole

France
Active

Desjardins Group

Canada
Active

Deutsche Bank

Germany
Active

Export Development Canada

Canada
Active

HSBC

United Kingdom
Active

JPMorgan Chase

United States
Active

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)

Japan
Active

Mizuho Financial Group

Japan
Active

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

Canada
Active

Scotiabank

Canada
Active

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Japan
Active

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank)

Canada
Active

Wells Fargo

United States
Active

Credit Suisse

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

Keystone XL pipeline

United States
Project
On record
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil

Keystone XL pipeline

United States
There are no active company profiles for this item now.

TC Energy

Canada
Company
on record
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil | Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas

TC Energy

Canada
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