Green financing surges to more than US$2.6 trillion at top banks: report

In September, 200 actors and filmmakers signed an open letter calling on the Toronto International Film Festival to stop accepting sponsorship money from RBC. In the battle against climate change, banks are often seen as villains--but a growing number are breaking out of that typecasting. In fall 2023, Corporate Knights and UK-based financial publication The Banker collaborated to produce the 2023 Sustainable Banking league table, the second annual ranking monitoring how global banks are helping finance the green transition. In 2023, the study wrested sustainability-based data out of 87 banks participating in the UN-organized Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) - up from 60 in 2022. In fiscal 2022, these banks earned a hefty US$53 billion in sustainable revenues from their loan books, investment portfolios and underwriting and advisory services.