Ribble Valley Council’s bank and investment arrangements should be reviewed regarding banks links to fossil fuel industries, a Green Party councillor has said.
Regarding returns from investments, Ribble Valley Council generated almost £224,000 during the April to May period this year, compared to £161,00 for the same period in 2023 when interest rates were lower. The council report also listed the latest credit ratings for banks and building societies. Fitch credit ratings are used to show the probability of organisations defaulting on council investments.
Coun Peplow said HSBC provided $144.93billion in fossil fuel financing between 2016-22, according to the report by Which? He added: “I would like to see us, as a council, thinking long and hard about our service providers and suppliers. Although Lloyds and NatWest are not whiter-than-white, their investment in fossil fuel is massively lower.
The treasury report said banks are reviewed annually to consider their long-term and short-term credit ratings. Ribble Valley Council has a policy to only use institutions with a short-term Fitch rating of F2 or above. The banks on its approved list meeting this requirement at May this year were Santander, Barclays, Bank of Scotland, HSBC Lloyds, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland. They all had F1 ratings except HSBC, which had a higher F1+.