SWISS FINANCE COMPLICIT IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPANSION

The report finds that five major Swiss financial institutions—UBS, Credit Suisse, Swiss Life AM, Zurich, and Pictet—continue to provide billions in financing and investments to companies expanding coal, oil, and gas production. Despite public net-zero pledges, the authors argue these institutions maintain weak policies with significant loopholes, engage in 'net-zero greenwashing,' and send mixed signals through inconsistent voting practices at shareholder meetings.

• Swiss banks and asset managers lack policies that guarantee an end to financial services for coal expansion. Most rely on revenue-share thresholds (e.g., 20%) that allow them to continue supporting large coal developers like Glencore and the Adani Group.
• There is a critical lack of policies regarding oil and gas expansion among the investigated institutions. None of the five institutions require portfolio companies to decrease overall oil and gas production.
• As of September 2022, the five asset managers held at least US$22.2 billion in companies developing new fossil fuel projects, with UBS AM being the largest investor at US$11.4 billion.
• Swiss financial institutions continue to provide new debt to fossil fuel expanders through bond underwriting and purchases. Examples include UBS underwriting a US$150 million bond for KEPCO and several managers buying bonds from TotalEnergies in January 2022.
• Voting practices at annual general meetings (AGMs) are described as ad hoc and inconsistent, often validating the climate plans of oil and gas majors despite their misalignment with a 1.5°C pathway.
• Decarbonization targets set by UBS, Credit Suisse, and Pictet are criticized as insufficient. UBS AM's target only covers 20% of its total assets under management and uses an intensity metric that may not reflect real-world emission reductions.

APA

Cuvelier, L., Louvel, Y., McCully, P., Nusbaumer, M., & Durin, G. (2023). SWISS FINANCE COMPLICIT IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPANSION. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023.03.28_Swiss-finance-complicit-in-fossil-fuel-expansion.pdf

Chicago

Cuvelier, Lara, Yann Louvel, Paddy McCully, Morgane Nusbaumer, and Guillaume Durin. SWISS FINANCE COMPLICIT IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPANSION. Reclaim Finance, 2023. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023.03.28_Swiss-finance-complicit-in-fossil-fuel-expansion.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cuvelier |first1=Lara |last2=Louvel |first2=Yann |last3=McCully |first3=Paddy |last4=Nusbaumer |first4=Morgane |last5=Durin |first5=Guillaume |title=SWISS FINANCE COMPLICIT IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPANSION |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=March 2023 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023.03.28_Swiss-finance-complicit-in-fossil-fuel-expansion.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cuvelier2023swiss, author = {Cuvelier, Lara and Louvel, Yann and McCully, Paddy and Nusbaumer, Morgane and Durin, Guillaume}, title = {{SWISS FINANCE COMPLICIT IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPANSION}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023.03.28_Swiss-finance-complicit-in-fossil-fuel-expansion.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }