Anna Pick
Bailey delays the inevitable on climate capital rules
16 July, 2021London, 16 July 2021 Asked by MPs whether climate change will be incorporated into the Bank of England’s capital rules, Bank governor Andrew Bailey has stated that further research is needed to determine whether the current framework adequately protects the financial system from the risks created by climate change. In a letter to MPs on [...]
Bank of England drops dividend rules
13 July, 2021London, 13 July 2021 The Bank of England has lifted restrictions on dividend payouts to shareholders at UK banks, after limits were imposed in March 2020 to encourage banks to preserve capital for lending to support the pandemic economy. The Financial Policy Committee’s biannual report states that “extraordinary guardrails on shareholder distributions are no longer [...]
Sunak Mansion House speech: Positive Money response
1 July, 2021London, 1 July 2021 In a speech delivered today at Mansion House, the Chancellor announced that companies, pension schemes, financial services firms will have to report on their impact on climate and the environment in a new set of ‘Sustainability Disclosure Requirements’. The Government said that it intends to legislate to deliver this and will [...]
Encourage green lending to Build Back Better, government and Bank of England told – report
23 June, 2021London, 23 June 2021 Report calls on policymakers to regulate private finance and unleash green investment Recent changes to the Bank of England’s mandate could allow the UK to lead the world on green finance ahead of COP26 while supporting small businesses and creating green jobs across the country, according to a new report published [...]
Bank must look beyond corporate bonds to fulfil green mandate
21 May, 2021FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE London, 21 May 2021 In the first detailed proposal since the Treasury added a green objective to its mandate in March, the Bank of England has today set out a long-awaited paper detailing a possible pathway towards decarbonising its Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme (CBPS). The paper reiterates that the £20 billion portfolio [...]
MPs: Bank should consider higher capital for fossil fuel lending – Positive Money response
22 April, 2021FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE London - 22 April 2021 The cross-party Treasury Committee has today published unanimously-agreed recommendations on greening the financial system, following a two-year inquiry. The committee recommends that the Bank must “explain its thinking, as to what measures it might consider appropriate for the capital regime to better accommodate the climate risk associated [...]
Central banks failing to match green rhetoric with action – report
31 March, 2021FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Absence of high impact climate policies among G20 central banks, report reveals London, 31 March 2020 - Monetary and financial authorities across the world’s largest economies aren’t practicing what they preach on climate, according to a new report published today by research and campaign group Positive Money. Endorsed by 24 leading research [...]
Sunak urged to stop bankers fuelling climate crisis in Budget
24 February, 2021London, 24 February 2021 Rishi Sunak should use his upcoming Budget to enable the Bank of England to shift billions of pounds away from fossil fuels and towards a green recovery, tens of thousands of people told the Chancellor today. A petition organised by campaign groups Positive Money, SumOfUs and 350.org, and signed by nearly [...]
Quantitative easing “turbocharges” inequality: our evidence to the House of Lords
19 February, 202119 Feb Giving evidence to the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee, Positive Money’s Fran Boait told members that since the financial crash, the Bank of England’s money creation programme has “turbocharged” inequality, by propping up stock markets at the expense of the real economy. We were delighted to be invited to give oral evidence [...]