Climate change

Zions Bancorp. and Webster Financial are among the inaugural members of the Risk Management Association’s climate-risk consortium for regional institutions. Like its large-bank counterpart, the group will work with banks to help guide the economy's transition to a low-carbon future.

American fossil-fuel suppliers are moving to tie their bank credit lines to sustainability goals, including slashing their carbon footprint. 

Barclays plans to step up its financing of renewable energy as Russia’s war on Ukraine adds to the urgency of moving away from fossil fuels.

European bank regulators are set to start work later this year on adding climate-change risks to the framework for setting capital requirements, in a shift that would penalize lenders for failing to prepare for losses from extreme weather and the shift to clean energy.

A new Securities and Exchange Commission proposal would require public companies to report climate-related risks across their value chain. That could be especially difficult if it means banks have to account for their borrowers' emissions.

Texas is seeking information from more than a dozen major finance firms on whether their operations discriminate against the fossil-fuel industry. 

HSBC Holdings promised to “phase down” its financing of the fossil fuel industry, sending a warning to oil and gas clients as the bank works toward its target of net-zero emissions.

Demand for green bonds and other financing tied to climate and environmental projects is growing and should expand further, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said.

Toronto-Dominion Bank set targets for reducing the emissions intensity of lending to certain energy industries, charting a clearer path for a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 while still boosting its loan book in those sectors.

The Biden administration's decision to bar oil and gas imports from Russia could increase domestic production and energy lending yet impede overall growth and demand for credit.