London, UK – Today, the Bank of England announced that it is financing oil and gas firms, airlines and the auto industry as part of its economic recovery plans amidst the Covid-19 crisis. In May, the Bank announced that it had approved £18.8 billion in loans to 55 companies through the Covid Corporate Finance Facility (CCFF). The Bank has said that another £38.8 billion could be made available through the scheme but until now the identity of the beneficiaries has been a well guarded-secret.
Following sustained public pressure, the UK’s top financial regulator has now revealed that:
- 19.5% of the CCFF has gone to support polluting companies in the oil, gas, airline and automobile industries.
- 16 participating companies have borrowed over £600 million, including the oil services company Baker Hughes, as well as the airlines easyJet and Ryanair.
Anna Vickerstaff, UK campaigner at 350.org said:
“The Bank of England’s response to the Covid-19 crisis threatens to worsen global inequality by fuelling the climate crisis. The billions that are being spent now need to build a stronger and fairer economy for people and workers instead of going to executives and shareholders of polluting oil, gas, airline and auto companies. As the UK’s top financial regulator, the Bank of England’s role now is to stop finance flowing into climate-wrecking fossil fuels and direct funding towards a Green New Deal that prioritises people and planet instead.”
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