Banks slash coal loans by 50 per cent as investor pressure mounts

Australia's big banks slashed loans to fossil fuel companies by almost a fifth in 2017, including a 50 per cent drop in their coal mining exposure, new analysis shows, as investors and regulators ramp up pressure over climate change risks.

Banks are cutting their exposure to fossil fuels, especially coal. 

ANZ Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank's combined loans to coal miners slumped by about $1.5 billion, or more than 50 per cent per cent, according to analysis of bank disclosures from environmental finance group Market Forces.

Read the story by Clancy Yeates from today’s Melbourne Age - “Banks slash coal loans by 50 per cent as investor pressure mounts.”