Financial flows of five leading banks in Sweden since the Paris Agreement

The study finds limited alignment with the Paris Agreement, as financing to high-emitting 'brown' sectors generally increased in volume since 2016, while 'green' investments remained marginal in absolute terms.

• The five sampled banks—Svenska Handelsbanken, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), Swedbank, Danske Bank, and Nordea—demonstrated limited alignment with the Paris Agreement's climate goals, with financing to high-emitting sectors gradually increasing in volume.
• Since the Paris Agreement took effect in 2016, the studied banks facilitated approximately USD 150 billion to high-emitting sectors, primarily through syndicated loans (USD 104.4 billion) and bond issuance underwritings (USD 36.3 billion).
• While the percentage of new deals dedicated to 'green' sectors increased since 2015, the absolute value of these investments remains marginal, reaching USD 1.31 billion in 2020.
• The largest expansion of financial flows occurred in 'grey' sectors, which include banks, real estate, and corporate finance services.
• Analysis of balance sheets from 2015 to 2020 showed that the fraction of loans provided to brown sectors ranged between 12% and 22% and exhibited moderately increasing trends for most commercial banks.
• Between 2016 and 2020, the distribution of total capital investments (USD 657 billion) was dominated by 'grey' sectors (67.25%), followed by 'brown' flows (21.87%), 'green' flows (10.34%), and 'transition' investments (0.54%).
• Bond issuance and corporate lending to green sectors declined by 2020 when compared to 2010, though this was partially offset by equity issuance underwritings.
• The study identifies a lack of transparency and standardization in defining 'brown' and 'green' investments, suggesting that established definitions are a priority for improving transparency on climate target alignment.

APA

Sajtos, L., Marbuah, G., & Maltais, A. (2022). Financial flows of five leading banks in Sweden since the Paris Agreement. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-report-sweden-banks-paris-marbuah-241022.pdf

Chicago

Sajtos, Laszlo, George Marbuah, and Aaron Maltais. Financial flows of five leading banks in Sweden since the Paris Agreement. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-report-sweden-banks-paris-marbuah-241022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sajtos |first1=Laszlo |last2=Marbuah |first2=George |last3=Maltais |first3=Aaron |title=Financial flows of five leading banks in Sweden since the Paris Agreement |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-report-sweden-banks-paris-marbuah-241022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sajtos2022financial, author = {Sajtos, Laszlo and Marbuah, George and Maltais, Aaron}, title = {{Financial flows of five leading banks in Sweden since the Paris Agreement}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sei-report-sweden-banks-paris-marbuah-241022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }