Finance
Ending finance for new oil and gas drilling projects is the minimum banks should do
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London-based financial institution HSBC will instantly cease lending and underwriting for brand spanking new oil and gasoline drilling initiatives, the financial institution introduced Dec. 14, making it the primary giant multinational financial institution—and top-tier funder of fossil fuels—to undertake such a coverage.
The coverage change follows a yr of strain from activist shareholders, and raises the bar for different main banks which have set long-term targets to decarbonize their lending however have thus far been reluctant to shut the purse strings for oil and gasoline producers.
“HSBC’s announcement is groundbreaking and can ship shockwaves to governments and fossil gasoline giants,” mentioned Jeanne Martin, head of the banking program at ShareAction, an advocacy group that spearheaded climate-related shareholder resolutions at HSBC and labored with the financial institution on its new oil and gasoline coverage.
HSBC will proceed lending to fossil gasoline corporations
To be clear, the coverage solely impacts project-specific finance, the place an oil and gasoline firm seeks a mortgage for a selected new drilling undertaking or infrastructure to help it. HSBC will proceed to lend and supply monetary companies to grease and gasoline corporations, together with these with plans to increase drilling, on the common company stage, i.e., finance not designated for one explicit undertaking. On common throughout European banks, 92% of finance for oil and gasoline corporations got here on the company stage, with solely 8% for particular initiatives, in line with ShareAction. HSBC is the highest European financier of oil and gasoline corporations, offering $59 billion in lending, underwriting, and different financing from 2016 to 2021.
Nonetheless, reducing off undertaking finance “sends a transparent sign to its shoppers that the financial institution is shedding its urge for food for this sort of exercise,” Martin mentioned. And it might be a stepping stone to extra wide-reaching restrictions; all main European banks now have some restrictions on corporate-level financing for coal corporations, a broad shift that additionally began with project-level finance.
HSBC can nonetheless clear up its promoting
There’s nonetheless loads HSBC can do to enhance on its local weather insurance policies, Martin mentioned. In October, UK officers banned a few of the financial institution’s adverts for making claims that had been deceptive or greenwashing. And though HSBC has mentioned it is going to require its company shoppers to ship net-zero transition plans, it hasn’t mentioned the way it will assess these plans or whether or not it could sever ties with shoppers whose plans are insufficient.
Nonetheless, if HSBC can no less than goal undertaking finance, there’s no purpose why JP Morgan Chase, Financial institution of America, Citi, and different main fossil gasoline financiers can’t comply with swimsuit. And the costlier and elusive finance for drilling turns into, the extra strain oil and gasoline corporations will really feel to hurry up their shift to lower-carbon enterprise fashions.
“The truth that HSBC might make this dedication makes it very onerous for different banks to not make comparable commitments,” Martin mentioned.
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Finance
Ukraine has a month to avoid default
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War is still exacting a heavy toll on Ukraine’s economy. The country’s GDP is a quarter smaller than on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, the central bank is tearing through foreign reserves and Russia’s recent attacks on critical infrastructure have depressed growth forecasts. “Strong armies,” warned Sergii Marchenko, Ukraine’s finance minister, on June 17th, “must be underpinned by strong economies.”
Following American lawmakers’ decision in April to belatedly approve a funding package worth $60bn, Ukraine is not about to run out of weapons. In time, the state’s finances will also be bolstered by G7 plans, announced on June 13th, to use Russian central-bank assets frozen in Western financial institutions to lend another $50bn. The problem is that Ukraine faces a cash crunch—and soon.
Finance
Florida Tech Names Kimberly Williams New Vice President for Administration, Chief Financial Officer – Space Coast Daily
![Florida Tech Names Kimberly Williams New Vice President for Administration, Chief Financial Officer – Space Coast Daily](https://spacecoastdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Florida-Tech-Kimberly-D.-William-600.jpg)
will start at Florida Tech on July 8
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Kimberly D. Williams, who has more than 20 years of experience in finance, higher education, and law, has been named Florida Tech’s vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer.
Williams most recently served as the vice president for business affairs, CFO and treasurer at the University of Findlay in Ohio. She will start at Florida Tech on July 8.
“The campus community feedback received when Kim visited us was overwhelmingly positive,” President John Nicklow wrote in an email to the university announcing her hire. “I’m confident that she has the skill set to help move our university forward, together.”
Williams graduated from Fayetteville State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and earned an MBA from Western Kentucky University. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law.
She served as a civil litigation attorney in Missouri for five years before becoming chief financial officer and corporate counsel for a global, consolidated corporation in the aviation industry.
There, she oversaw the company’s overall financial health and gave project oversight across several fields as a strategic leader.
In 2016 Williams entered higher education, becoming business manager and director of business services for the University of Arkansas. After two years at UA, she was named assistant vice president for administrative and business services at Middle Tennessee State University.
As the senior administrator, she supported the department’s mission to provide effective and innovative business and administrative services to enrich learning and academic excellence on campus.
Williams stayed in Tennessee until 2022, when she became the vice president for business affairs, CFO and treasurer at University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. There, she oversaw all matters related to the financial management of the university, serving as the primary steward of its financial and physical resources.
Williams is a member of several professional associations, including the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the Council of Independent Colleges, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio, the Ohio Association of College and Business Officers and the National Association of Educational Procurement.
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Finance
World Bank OKs $1.5 billion financing for green H2 projects in India | India News – Times of India
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The programme will support reforms to boost the production of green hydrogen and electrolyzers.It also supports reforms to boost renewable energy penetration, for instance, by incentivising battery energy storage solutions and amending the Indian Electricity Grid Code to improve renewable energy integration into the grid. The financing includes a $1.46 billion loan from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and a $31.5 million credit from International Development Association (IDA).
“The World Bank is pleased to continue supporting India’s low-carbon development strategy which will help achieve the country’s net-zero target while creating clean energy jobs in the private sector,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank Country Director for India.
The reforms are expected to result in the production of at least 450,000 metric tonne of green hydrogen and 1,500 MW of electrolyzers per year from FY25/26 onwards. It will also help to increase renewable energy capacity and support reductions in emissions by 50 million tonne per year.
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