Top Coal Bank Countries
USA & Co.
China's Coal Financing
Although Chinese banks’ coal financing dropped from almost $101 billion in 2016 to $88 billion in 2023, this 13% decrease was likely due to the slowing of the country’s economic growth and does not signify a lasting reduction trend.
Among the top 5 coal banks of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was the only bank whose coal financing was substantially lower in 2023 than in 2016.
Top Coal Banks China
China’s and the world’s largest coal financier is the China International Trust Investment Corporation, CITIC. CITIC was founded in 1979 and is the country’s biggest state-run conglomerate. Through its banking subsidiaries, CITIC provided $31.3 billion to the coal industry since January 2021. 5 other huge Chinese banks also fed the coal industry with humongous amounts of money. These are the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China $23.8 billion, China Everbright Group $20.2 billion, China Merchants Bank $19.9 billion, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank $16.8 billion.
US Coal Financing
US bank lending and underwriting for the coal industry grew from $16.2 billion in 2021 to $19.8 billion in 2023, an increase of 22%.
If we, however, look at how coal financing of individual US banks developed over time, we can see that even banks with similar exposures in 2023 are on radically different pathways.
Top Coal Banks USA
Between January 2021 and December 2023, the following banks were the top US financiers of the global coal industry: Bank of America $6 billion, JPMorgan Chase $5.9 billion, Citigroup $4.9 billion, Wells Fargo $4.4 billion and US Bancorp $3.9 billion.
While Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are still two of the world’s largest coal financiers, their support for the coal industry was significantly lower in 2023 than in 2016. Bank of America, US Bancorp, however, simultaneously moved in the opposite direction and vastly increased their support for the coal industry in 2023.
Japan's Coal Financing
Coal financing of Japanese banks decreased by 45% from $12.1 billion in 2016 to $6.6 billion in 2023. As the graph shows, a major drop occurred between 2018 and 2020, but subsequently banks’ coal financing has more or less stayed at the same level.
Top Coal Banks Japan
The biggest Japanese coal financiers over the past 3 years were Mizuho $8.1 billion, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial $6.1 billion, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (SMBC) $4.7 billion, Nomura $1.7 billion) and Daiwa Securities $1.3 billion.
Although the coal policies of Japanese banks are notoriously weak, the data shows a significant decrease in the coal finance portfolios of 4 of the top players in 2023. The only exception is SMBC.
Canada's Coal Financing
Although Canada was a key initiator of the “Powering Past Coal Alliance”, most of the country’s top commercial banks have doubled down on coal. In 2016, Canadian banks
provided $4 billion to the coal industry. In 2023, this figure grew to $4.7 billion, an increase of 18%.
Top Coal Banks Canada
The country’s top coal financiers over the past 3 years were Scotiabank $3.5 billion, Royal Bank of Canada $3.3 billion, Toronto Dominion $2.5 billion and BMO Financial $1.6 billion.
If we compare the coal financing volumes of these banks in 2016 and 2023, the data shows that Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and BMO Financial Group each significantly increased their support for the coal industry in 2023. The only top Canadian bank whose coal portfolio shrank in comparison to 2016 is Scotiabank.
India's Coal Financing
In 2016, Indian commercial banks channelled $6.8 billion to the coal industry. In 2023, their coal financing amounted to $1.8 billion, 74% less than the 2016 baseline.
However, in December 2023, India’s power minister announced plans to add nearly 88 GW of new thermal power capacity to the grid by 2032. Much of this new capacity would be coal-fired and it is entirely possible that Indian banks could step up their coal financing again. Up to now, only two small Indian private banks – Suryoday Small Finance and Federal Bank – have adopted policies excluding the financing of new coal projects.
Top Coal Banks India
The country’s largest coal financiers over the past 3 years were the State Bank of India $2.1 billion, ICICI Bank $1.5 billion, Trust Group $1.1 billion, AK Group $871 million and Axis Bank $782 million. Four of these five banks had significantly smaller coal portfolios in 2023 than in 2016. This mirrors a substantial reduction on the country level.
Indonesia's Coal Financing
In Indonesia, coal financing by commercial banks has risen by 42% since 2016 and amounted to $3.7 billion in 2023. And it is likely to rise further as Indonesia has the world’s third largest coal plant pipeline with around 20 GW of new capacity planned or under development.
Indonesia's Top Coal Banks
Indonesia’s biggest coal financiers over the past 3 years were Bank Mandiri $3.1 billion, Bank Negara Indonesia $1.4 billion and Bank Rakyat Indonesia $1.2 billion. Out of these three, only Bank Rakyat Indonesia reduced its coal financing since 2016, while Bank Mandiri and Bank Negara both massively increased their support for the industry in 2023.
UK's Top Coal Banks
In the last 3 years, the UK's top coal banks are Barclays $4 billion, HSBC $1.2 billion and Standard Chartered $651 million. All 3 banks have decresed their coal financing since 2016. Coal financing from Standard Chartered was 67%, and from HSBC even 77% lower in 2023, compared to 2016. Barclays only reduced its coal financing by 32% in the same timeframe.
Europe's Coal Financing
The overall picture in Europe shows a 51% decline in the coal financing volumes of commercial banks, which went from $13.4 billion in 2016 to $6.5 billion in 2023.
Public and investor pressure has moved many European banks to adopt coal exclusion policies and begin phasing out their support for the coal industry, but progress is uneven und still far too slow. Accordingly, the European Central Bank warned in January 2024: “Currently banks’ credit portfolios are substantially misaligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, leading to elevated transition risks for roughly 90% of these banks."
Top Coal Banks Europe
Europe’s biggest coal financiers since 2021 are Barclays $4 billion, UBS $2.7 billion, BNP Paribas $1.8 billion and Deutsche Bank $1.6 billion.
While a comparison of coal financing levels in 2016 and 2023 shows a steep drop for UBS and BNP Paribas, Barclays’ coal financing only decreased by one-third. Deutsche Bank is, however, the real outlier as its coal financing is almost at the same level as in 2016.