Banks| Dodgy Deals| Map| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Join our Active Allies list
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2020-12-22 00:00:00
Blog: In 2020, the Equator Principles struggle to remain relevant
2020-12-14 00:00:00
The battle to stop Line 3 is heating up on the ground and across the US
2020-12-14 00:00:00
Corporate accountability and the just transition: Frameworks for holding corporations accountable for climate change
2020-12-12 00:00:00
Five years since the Paris Agreement, are banks' 2050 pledges enough to reign in fossil fuel finance?
2020-09-24 12:53:20
Oscislowo open-pit coal mine cancelled
2020-09-08 13:07:41
Strengthened OECD guidance on responsible banking
2020-02-25 10:35:27
JPMorgan Chase Coal and Arctic Policy a step forward but fails to match its climate responsibility as the world’s #1 Fossil Bank
2020-02-18 17:27:23
Civil society groups welcome Royal Bank of Scotland preparing to exit fossil fuels
Connect
2020-11-30 00:00:00
Soft Commitments, Hard Lessons: an analysis of the Soft Commodities Compact
2020-11-24 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part II
2020-11-18 00:00:00
Crude Risk: Risks to banks and investors from the East African Crude Oil Pipeline
2020-09-16 00:00:00
Principles for Paris-Aligned Financial Institutions: Climate Impact, Fossil Fuels and Deforestation
2020-08-17 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part I
2020-03-18 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Change - Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2020
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Home › Blog
Who's bankrolling TransCanada?
Banking on TransCanada means banking on Keystone XL
Start
Banks
Dodgy Deals

By: Alison Kirsch - Rainforest Action Network
2017-03-24

Share this page:

Who's bankrolling TransCanada? Infographic. (Large version). Photo: 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.

Related 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

Credit Suisse Switzerland

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 Banking Corporation (SMBC) Japan

active

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank) Canada

active

Wells Fargo United States

active

Related Dodgy Deals

Projects

active

Keystone XL pipeline United States

Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil
There are no projects active for this item now.

Companies

active

TC Energy Canada

Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil | Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
There are no companies active for this item now.
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
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