Stop the RBC takeover of HSBC Canada

12,399 actions

goal: 17,000

Canada’s biggest, most powerful, and increasingly most controversial company is trying to get even bigger. RBC – the leading funder of fossil fuels in the world as of 2022 – is trying to buy HSBC Canada.^1,2 RBC's proposed takeover of HSBC Canada would be the biggest bank merger in Canada's history.

This deal will give Canada’s dirtiest bank more money to fund climate chaos and undermine reconciliation. It will further increase the costs of mortgages, rents, and credit cards, making life even more unaffordable. If approved, this takeover will leave Canadians with fewer choices and put climate solutions further out of reach, undoing the historic climate commitments HSBC has already made to stop funding oil and gas expansion.³

RBC’s acquisition can only go through with the government’s approval. And that means we can stop this takeover. The Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, will make the final decision. If you think RBC’s rising investments in toxic pipelines and fracking pose a threat to the climate, now is the time to voice your opposition to this merger. Send a message to Finance Minister Freeland now.

Send a message to Finance Minister Freeland

Subject

To Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland:

I am writing to oppose the acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada by the Royal Bank of Canada. This proposed acquisition would give Canada’s dirtiest and most controversial bank more money to fund climate chaos and undermine reconciliation. It will further increase the costs of mortgages, rents, and credit cards, making life even more unaffordable. It will leave Canadians with fewer green financial choices and put climate solutions further out of reach.

The Department of Finance has a duty to consider the impacts of this merger on climate finance. Allowing private financial institutions to expand while financing the fossil fuel companies that make climate change worse puts both Canada’s financial system and the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement at risk.

RBC is the worst “fossil fuel bank” in Canada and the #1 bank in the world for funding climate chaos. RBC touts its "sustainable finance" commitments, but a 2023 report shows it puts $99 of its energy finance into fossil fuels for every $1 into renewable energy.

Unlike RBC, HSBC Canada was acting on its sustainability commitments. In 2022 HSBC announced a groundbreaking policy to stop financing new oil and gas projects. RBC had that climate policy exempted from HSBC Canada as a condition for this takeover. In 2022, HSBC's fossil fuel funding went down, while RBC's went up. RBC has financed $340B in fossil fuels since the Paris climate agreement was signed.

RBC’s business practices show it has no intention of cutting its financing of fossil fuels. The loss of a competitor moving to phase out its support for fossil fuels (HSBC) to one that is increasing it (RBC) will serve to further consolidate Canadian investment into an area at risk of becoming stranded, worsening the level of climate risk in our national economy.

This acquisition is not in the best interest of the financial sector or the public, and I urge you NOT to approve it.

Sincerely,

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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland

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Stop the RBC takeover of HSBC Canada

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