ANZ, NAB grilled over fossil fuels lending in Senate greenwashing inquiry
Senators also said flaws in existing corporate and consumer laws meant they failed to prevent consumers from buying products based on questionable sustainability claims.
ANZ and NAB were among a group of financial services and energy companies to cop a grilling for their continued support of the fossil fuel industry despite also communicating the environmental benefits of their products to consumers in a senate greenwashing inquiry.
ANZ said it currently has a $6 billion lending exposure to fossil fuel companies, most of which ($5.5 billion) was loaned to oil and gas companies.
Chief risk officer Kevin Corbally told the inquiry that the lending had reduced by 40% since the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was inked in 2015, but did not address whether the bank had a specific exclusion policy on lending to new or expanded oil and gas projects.
Capital Brief analysis last week showed that all of the other big four banks, including NAB, had established exclusion policies to curb their lending to the sector in line with 2030 targets.
