UBS has become the latest bank to withdraw from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), following the departure of Barclays last week.
The Swiss bank was a founding member of the alliance, which was established in 2021 to support banks in aligning with climate goals. Its departure follows on from that of HSBC, JPMorgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie and others, which have all exited the NZBA this year.
‘Valuable role’
In a statement, UBS said that it ‘recognises the NZBA’s valuable role in helping banks establish initial target-setting frameworks. With that work advanced and with our in-house capabilities strengthened, we have decided to withdraw from the NZBA, like a number of our global peers.’
It noted that its commitment to sustainability and supporting a transition to a low-carbon economy remains ‘unchanged’, and it will continue to support its clients in the ‘transition to a low-carbon world’.
‘We recognise the importance of an orderly transition to a low-carbon economy,’ UBS’ statement read. ‘Clients remain at the heart of what we do as we support them in the transition. We remain steadfast in our commitment to be our clients’ bank of choice and support them with offerings that meet their evolving needs.
‘We remain focused on supporting our clients in understanding the impact of climate change in their business models and their investments, including both risks and opportunities. We continue advancing our multi-year initiative to embed sustainability and climate risk into our risk management and stress-testing frameworks.’
Read more: Withdrawal of banks from climate alliances risks eroding public trust
‘Future vision’
Despite the recent departures, the NZBA, which still boasts over 120 members, remains steadfast, with a NZBA spokesperson commenting earlier this week that the alliance “remains focused on delivering on the future vision overwhelmingly endorsed by member banks a few months ago.
“It is supporting its members to lead on climate by addressing the barriers preventing their clients from investing in the net-zero transition,” the spokesperson continued. “As the largest global initiative specifically focused on supporting climate mitigation action by banks, NZBA is uniquely positioned to provide the practical support banks need to grasp the opportunities and manage the risks of the move to net zero.” Read more here.
Read more: Barclays the latest to withdraw from Net Zero Banking Alliance
