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\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tWednesday 29 April 2026 1:16 am
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tTuesday 28 April 2026 9:33 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
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Natwest faced a prickly time in its Edinburgh AGM and in this week\u2019s column Samuel Norman looks at whether fun and games could be in store for its peers. Also on the agenda this week \u2013 Revolut heads for some Spanish sun.<\/p>\n
Natwest chair Rick Haythornthwaite suffered a thorny reception on Tuesday at the bank\u2019s annual general meeting in Edinburgh.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The City veteran, who has a 15-year stint chairing<\/a> payments giant Mastercard under his belt, was in the hot seat as climate activists disrupted the proceedings, marking a turbulent start to the banking sector\u2019s AGM season.<\/p>\n Trailed ahead of the meeting was a campaign spearheaded by investor activist group Shareaction, seeking to get Natwest to overturn changes to its green policies.<\/a><\/p>\n The group called for protest votes against the bank\u2019s board members as it accused the leadership of \u201cbacktracking on climate commitments\u201d. A key contention surrounds Natwest dropping its commitment not to lend to any oil and gas companies that lack a credible transition plan or that fail to report their overall carbon emissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the end, the meeting was only adjourned for 15 minutes and Haythornthwaite cruised to reelection with 92 per cent of the vote, a modest dip from 97 per cent last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Natwest sets tone for peers<\/p>\n But Natwest\u2019s bumpy AGM, the first of its peers, suggests more banks may be set to run the climate gauntlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Natwest is not the first to face AGM heat on its climate policies, nor is it the only bank opting to switch up its climate policies. Over the last year the net zero banking ambition has slowly run out of gas to the point the industry\u2019s net zero club has ceased operations.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Analysts have pointed to reasons across the board for the change of heart. Some suggested the anti-ESG rampage pioneered by Donald Trump\u2019s return to the White House was responsible and others have blamed the very foundations these endeavours were built on in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sir Douglas Flint, the former chairman of HSBC has said the piling of funds into green and social policies was a \u201chuge mistake\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt became a marketing thing,\u201d he told a City conference last year, \u201clet\u2019s tell everyone we\u2019re saving the world, we\u2019re saving the planet\u201d.<\/p>\n It was HSBC\u2019s (now former) head of responsible investing Stuart Kirk who fired the starting gun on questioning climate investment back in 2022, when he said it was getting \u201ca little bit out of hand\u201d. At the time, HSBC rapidly distanced itself from the comments.<\/p>\n But last year Europe\u2019s biggest lender was forced to slap a 20 year delay<\/a> on its net zero ambition last year with the reduction in emissions now pencilled in for 2050, more broadly in line with its peers than the previous 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tRachel Reeves reforms ring-fencing in boost to Natwest and Lloyds<\/a><\/p>\n Europe\u2019s biggest lender has already found itself in Shareaction\u2019s crosshairs who last year accused the bank of an \u201cegregious example of backtracking on climate\u201d policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n And on May 8, when HSBC kicks off its AGM, don\u2019t be surprised to see the group come back for a second bite of the cherry. That\u2019s a fear the bank may already be preparing for with reports last year it was mulling axing in person AGMs amid frustration around disruption from climate protestors. The May AGM is expected to go ahead on a hybrid basis.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just Natwest and HSBC in the firing line.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Douglas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Douglas-Flint.webp\")
Douglas Flint worked at HSBC for more than twenty years<\/p>\n
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Revolut heads for the Spanish sun.<\/p>\n