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Banks Tout Green Credentials Yet Cling to Fossil-Fuel Clients

  • Activists tally $1.9 trillion in financing since Paris Accord
  • EU investment bank mulls an exit that might set a precedent
Iran's Salman Oil Field Ahead Of U.S. Sanctions
Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg

The European Union’s investment bank’s board is considering ending its financing of fossil-fuel businesses -- a move that climate activists have hailed. But there’s little chance the larger finance industry will follow suit any time soon.

That’s because while bankers talk up their green financing, big oil is still big business for big banks.