As more people awake to the harsh reality that single-use plastic is a major contributor to global pollution, companies that finance its production and distribution are facing increasing pressure to divest from these businesses.
This pressure isn’t coming just from tree-hugging environmentalists. Individual activist investors, university pension funds, and other stake-holders are reviewing their holdings and drawing links between return-on-investment and environmental destruction. (On a personal level, perhaps they should consider some of these 30 easy ways to be more environmentally friendly.)
For years, banks have been facing pressure to move their financing activities out of oil and gas exploration and to focus more on sustainable energy. And since almost all single-use plastic begins its journey to the oceans from oil and natural gas wells, it’s not surprising that momentum has been building to compel lenders to review their role in the plastics industry, too.
While financial institutions aren’t likely to stop investing in plastics production any time soon, environmental groups and proponents of more ethical ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing are demanding that they be held accountable for their contribution to the massive volume of water bottles, plastic bags, and food containers that are choking the oceans. (These are the companies that produce the most plastic waste around the world.)
Click here to see the banks that invest the most in plastic production around the world.
Dozens of banks worldwide are involved in the plastics business. To identify the 50 supplying the most loans to support plastic manufacturing, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data in “The Plastic Waste Makers Index,” published this year by the Minderoo Foundation, an Australia-based philanthropy. The list is based on the total value of loans adjusted for share of business from in-scope polymer production.
50. Sberbank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 8
> Country: Russia
> Annual revenue: $47.3 billion
> Annual profit: $10.4 billion
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49. KDB Financial Group
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 77
> Country: South Korea
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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48. PNC Financial Services
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 89
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $17.4 billion
> Annual profit: $8.4 billion
47. Mega Financial
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 88
> Country: Taiwan
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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46. State Bank of India
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 162
> Country: India
> Annual revenue: $50.6 billion
> Annual profit: $3.1 billion
45.Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW)
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 21
> Country: Germany
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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44. European Investment Bank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 9
> Country: Luxembourg
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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43. Toronto-Dominion Bank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 70
> Country: Canada
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
42. Regions Financial
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 23
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $6.4 billion
> Annual profit: $1.1 billion
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41. Royal Bank of Canada
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 159
> Country: Canada
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
40. Intesa Sanpaolo
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 117
> Country: Italy
> Annual revenue: $45.8 billion
> Annual profit: $3.7 billion
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39. Yuanta Financial
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 73
> Country: Taiwan
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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38. Kasikornbank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 55
> Country: Thailand
> Annual revenue: $8.2 billion
> Annual profit: $916.9 million
37. Taiwan Financial Holding
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 85
> Country: Taiwan
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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36. Bank of New York Mellon
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 51
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $15.9 billion
> Annual profit: $3.6 billion
35. ANZ
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 118
> Country: Australia
> Annual revenue: $20.3 billion
> Annual profit: $2.4 billion
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34. BNDES
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 6
> Country: Brazil
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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33. Bank of China
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 273
> Country: China
> Annual revenue: $134 billion
> Annual profit: $27.9 billion
32. Standard Chartered
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 279
> Country: United Kingdom
> Annual revenue: $21 billion
> Annual profit: $425.8 million
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31. Commerzbank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 98
> Country: Germany
> Annual revenue: $13 billion
> Annual profit: $-3.3 billion
30. Krung Thai Bank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 65
> Country: Thailand
> Annual revenue: $4.9 billion
> Annual profit: $534.6 million
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29. Scotiabank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 206
> Country: Canada
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
28. Wells Fargo
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 310
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $85.9 billion
> Annual profit: $7.4 billion
27. Erste Group
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 65
> Country: Austria
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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26. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 73
> Country: China
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
25. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 203
> Country: China
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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24. Siam Commercial Bank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 65
> Country: Thailand
> Annual revenue: $5.6 billion
> Annual profit: $869.7 million
23. Santander
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 143
> Country: Spain
> Annual revenue: $73.6 billion
> Annual profit: $-10 billion
22. Raiffeisen Bank International
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 63
> Country: Austria
> Annual revenue: $8.3 billion
> Annual profit: $830.7 million
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21. Lloyds Banking Group
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 79
> Country: United Kingdom
> Annual revenue: $43.4 billion
> Annual profit: $1.1 billion
20. Bangkok Bank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 65
> Country: Thailand
> Annual revenue: $5.2 billion
> Annual profit: $549 million
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19. UBS
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 117
> Country: Switzerland
> Annual revenue: $32.2 billion
> Annual profit: $6.5 billion
18. NatWest
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 163
> Country: United Kingdom
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
17. ING Group
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 178
> Country: Netherlands
> Annual revenue: $20.1 billion
> Annual profit: $2.8 billion
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16. Société Générale
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 321
> Country: France
> Annual revenue: $41.4 billion
> Annual profit: $-990.6 million
15. Crédit Agricole
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 322
> Country: France
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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14. Morgan Stanley
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 377
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $56.7 billion
> Annual profit: $13.4 billion
13. Credit Suisse
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 167
> Country: Switzerland
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
12. BNP Paribas
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 445
> Country: France
> Annual revenue: $102.7 billion
> Annual profit: $7.6 billion
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11. UniCredit
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 173
> Country: Italy
> Annual revenue: $26.6 billion
> Annual profit: $-3.3 billion
10. Goldman Sachs
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 320
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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9. SMBC Group
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 495
> Country: Japan
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
8. Mizuho Financial
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 571
> Country: Japan
> Annual revenue: $30.3 billion
> Annual profit: $3.7 billion
7. Deutsche Bank
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 340
> Country: Germany
> Annual revenue: $35.4 billion
> Annual profit: $566.6 million
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6. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 599
> Country: Japan
> Annual revenue: $56 billion
> Annual profit: $5.2 billion
5. HSBC
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 600
> Country: United Kingdom
> Annual revenue: Data not available
> Annual profit: Data not available
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4. Bank of America
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 561
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $98.8 billion
> Annual profit: $17.9 billion
3. Citigroup
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 746
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $84.4 billion
> Annual profit: $17.1 billion
2. JPMorgan Chase
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 636
> Country: United States
> Annual revenue: $136.2 billion
> Annual profit: $40.4 billion
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1. Barclays
> Number of deals (2010-2019): 477
> Country: United Kingdom
> Annual revenue: $27.9 billion
> Annual profit: $2 billion
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Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
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