Your savings may be financing oil drilling without you knowing it. According to the report Banking on Climate Chaos, over $900 billion was allocated to fossil fuels by 65 banks in the last analyzed fiscal year, and three out of five banks increased their financing. In this context, choosing an ecological and ethical bank is no longer just about showcasing values. One must also be able to distinguish real commitments from marketing rhetoric.
Fossil Financing: What the Numbers Behind Green Labels Reveal
The volume of money that continues to flow into fossil fuels remains the most reliable indicator for assessing a bank claiming to be ethical. Labels and CSR certifications provide a framework but say nothing about the actual allocation of funds.
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JPMorgan remains the world’s largest financier of fossil fuels, ahead of Bank of America and Mitsubishi UFJ. This ranking, derived from the report Banking on Climate Chaos, shows that the biggest financiers of oil and gas are not backing down.
French banks have gradually reduced their contribution to the expansion of fossil fuels in recent years. However, Greenpeace reminds us that from 2021 to 2024, French banks injected $182 billion into fossil fuels. Reducing does not mean stopping. To view the ranking of ecological and ethical banks, one must look beyond the promises displayed on homepages.
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Have you ever noticed that a bank can call itself “green” while financing gas projects? The label alone does not guarantee anything about the actual allocation of funds. The important question is: where does the money deposited in your account actually go?
Ethical Banking in France: La Nef, Crédit Coopératif, and helios Facing Their Commitments
Three players consistently come up when discussing ethical finance in France. Their models differ significantly.
La Nef: Total Transparency on Funded Projects
La Nef is an ethical finance cooperative that publishes the complete list of projects it finances. Every euro deposited is traceable. This transparency is unique in the French banking landscape.
Its range of services is limited compared to a traditional bank. No standalone checking account for a long time, although the offering has evolved. La Nef prioritizes ecological consistency over the breadth of services.
Crédit Coopératif: Cooperative Bank with a Comprehensive Network
Crédit Coopératif offers a classic banking range (checking account, credit, savings) while directing its financing towards the social and solidarity economy. It suits clients who want a complete banking account without giving up an ethical dimension.
The downside: as a subsidiary of the BPCE group, Crédit Coopératif remains tied to a banking group that also finances carbon-intensive sectors. The governance of environmental compliance partly depends on decisions made at the group level.
helios: Ecological Neobank with Carbon Tracking
helios positions itself as an ecological bank account with an integrated carbon footprint simulator. The money deposited is directed towards ecological transition projects. Its model is based on a simple promise: no financing for fossil fuels, tobacco, or arms.
Like any neobank, helios is not an autonomous banking institution. Funds are hosted by a partner bank, raising questions about the chain of environmental responsibility.
Governance and Climate Compliance: Three Verifiable Criteria
Beyond rhetoric, three criteria allow us to gauge the sincerity of a bank’s ethical approach.
- Publication of fossil financing: does the bank publicly disclose the details of its exposures to the oil, gas, and coal sectors? A bank that refuses this transparency has no reason to hide if its numbers are good.
- Sectoral exclusion policy: some institutions formally exclude coal, while others limit themselves to revenue thresholds that allow most fossil players to pass through. The devil is in the calibration of these thresholds.
- Measurable reduction trajectory: a bank that massively financed fossils five years ago and has documented its reduced exposure deserves more attention than a small institution that has never had this type of portfolio.
French banks have reduced their contribution to fossil expansion for several years, but they continue to finance this sector at a significant level. Gradually reducing does not equate to exiting fossils.
Choosing Your Ecological Bank: Concrete Questions to Ask
Why is this choice so difficult? Because no bank ticks all the boxes at once. A very transparent bank may offer few services. A complete cooperative bank may belong to a group whose carbon policy remains unclear.
Here are the questions to ask before opening an account:
- Does the bank publish a detailed report of its financing, broken down by energy sector?
- Does it formally exclude financing for new fossil projects (and not just coal)?
- Are its savings funds directed towards identifiable ecological transition projects?
- If it’s a neobank, which partner bank hosts the deposits, and what is the climate policy of that bank?
Institutions that publish their carbon exposure data and apply verifiable sectoral exclusions stand out clearly from those that settle for a green logo. Comparing banks based on their actual financing remains today the most accessible lever to direct one’s savings towards a coherent climate trajectory.