A group of institutional investors is calling on Credit Suisse to be more transparent about the impact of its business on the climate. Credit Suisse says it is pursuing a clear strategy.

A group of 11 investors is seeking to use shareholder resolutions to bring greater transparency to Credit Suisse and reduce the bank's exposure to financing fossil fuel companies, the Ethos Foundation said in a statement Wednesday.

Representing assets of 2.2 trillion Swiss francs ($2.4 trillion), the investors include the pension funds of the City of Zurich, the Swiss Post and Publica, the  federal employee pension fund. The resolution was initiated by Ethos and ShareAction. 

Incompatability

The investors are concerned about financial and regulatory risks and Credit Suisse’s reputation, the statement said, pointing out the bank continues to finance business activities which appear incompatible with the bank's stated goals of aligning its financing with the Paris Agreement. 

The Proposal

The goal of the effort is to have the bank amend its bylaws to improve climate risk reporting, requiring Credit Suisse to publish additional information on its strategy to align financing with the Paris Agreement and reduce exposure to coal, oil and gas investments. 

Should the proposal result in a shareholder vote at the April 29 annual general meeting, it would be the first climate change shareholder resolution to come of a vote at a Swiss company’s AGM, Ethos said.

Credit Suisse Responds

Credit Suisse responded finews.ch with a statement that it is aware of the ShareAction and Ethos proposal, and that shareholder dialogue is an essential part of its stakeholder approach. The bank will detail key progress, including the reduction in financing for the oil, gas and coal sectors in its Sustainability Report 2021 to be published March 10, it went on to say.

Clear Goals

Credit Suisse said it has a clear position on sustainability which it set out in 2020. It targets net-zero emissions for operations, supply chain and financing activities to be achieved by 2050 at the latest, along with interim targets for 2030.

The approach includes sector specific climate strategies, with a commitment to setting science-based targets to monitor emissions reductions and credit risk. It also extends to sector-specific Client Energy Transition Frameworks (CETFs) to help guide clients in climate sensitive sectors during the transition to more climate-friendly business activities, Credit Suisse said.