Austria's Raiffeisen to phase out thermal coal financing

Austria-based Raiffeisen Bank International AG said it will phase out financing of companies that generate more than 25% of sales from thermal coal mining.

Raiffeisen, which had €1.4 billion lent to such companies as of the end of 2020, representing 0.65% of total groupwide exposure, will stop providing new loans immediately and recoup outstanding credit by 2030. The move will also apply to energy and trading companies involved in thermal coal.

Raiffeisen plans to expand its activity in wind and solar technologies. It aims to increase the share of Austrian corporate loans to environmental, social and governance-compliant investments to about 33% from 10% by 2025.

READ MORE: Sign up for our weekly ESG newsletter here, read our latest coverage of environmental, social and governance issues here and listen to our ESG podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple podcasts.