Bankers Told They Can Ignore Binding Fossil-Finance Restrictions (1)

The world’s biggest climate coalition for bankers says it has the right to ignore a proposal that would require members to phase out the financing of fossil fuels.

Tracey McDermott, chair of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, said in a letter on Monday that the 119-strong group, which counts Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS Group AG among signatories, has “an autonomous governance structure and decision making process” and any changes to its guidelines “can only take place in accordance with that governance.”

The clarification was issued after the United Nations-backed Race to Zero campaign, which reviews and ...