HSBC faces shareholder pressure to cut fossil fuel financing

Investors are turning their attention to the banking sector, which pours billions into hydrocarbons each year despite committing to support net-zero by 2050

Shareholders with $2.4tn in collective assets co-filed a resolution on Monday urging HSBC to publish a strategy and targets for the short, medium and long-term to lower its exposure to fossil fuel assets on a timeline aligned with the Paris Agreement. The resolution, which urges HSBC to start with coal, follows a four-year engagement with the London-based bank and is backed by 15 institutional investors, including pension funds and asset management giants Amundi and Man Group. Many of the world’s biggest banks have committed to become net-zero by 2050—including HSBC—but many are failing to reduce their financing of fossil fuels through underwriting services and loans. Institutional investors