Last year, ING was the first bank in central and eastern Europe to stop providing dedicated finance to new upstream oil and gas fields, despite the fact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatened energy supply on the continent. The Dutch lender remains the bank of choice for green or sustainability labelled deals in the region.
It has made a commitment to increase its financing to support the transition of its clients to €125 billion a year, while in March this year, ING announced it would now restrict dedicated finance to midstream activities, specifically oil and gas infrastructure that unlock new oil and gas fields.
This dedication to reducing the volumes of finance it allocates to the sector was met with a push for higher standards on the sustainability-linked side.
“As a funder of the real economy, we seek to support our clients through the transition,” says Robert Spruijt, head of sustainable finance Europe, Middle East and Africa at ING.