The bank, which quickly refuted claims made in the bogus press release that it was withdrawing the loan because of Whitehaven’s environmental record, told ILN that it would co-operate with ASIC into an investigation of the incident.
The hoax press release was sent on ANZ letterhead by anti-coal campaigner Jonathan Moylan, who is opposed to the mine’s development near New South Wales state forests and agricultural land.
Protest group Front Line Action on Coal subsequently released a statement saying it would continue its campaign against the ANZ until it shifted its funding to “ethical investments”
“ANZ customers have the right to know that their money is being invested in a project which will force farmers off their land and destroy 1360 hectares of critically endangered koala habitat,” Moylan said.
ANZ said it remained fully supportive of Whitehaven Coal.
“We will be co-operating fully with the regulator’s investigation,” a spokesman told ILN/
“In response to the question on lending to the sector, we will continue to assess each project on its merits.”
The spokesman directed ILN to its lending approach on its website.
“We finance some socially and environmentally sensitive industries, and our increasing presence in the Asia Pacific region means doing business in some countries with developing legal and governance frameworks,” it states.
“Our aim is to make balanced, informed and transparent decisions, and work with our clients to help them improve their management of business, social and environment risks and to make the most of opportunities.”
The bank’s approach and the decisions that it makes are informed by stakeholder engagement, and governed by its Reputation Risk Committee.
“This group-wide committee oversees management of social, environmental and reputational risks, particularly in our corporate and institutional client portfolio,” it said.
“Complex and controversial issues involving clients, transactions and products are also considered by this committee. The committee is supported by regional and divisional subcommittees to provide global and sectoral coverage wherever ANZ is represented.”
