{"id":61795,"date":"2023-11-23T14:23:47","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T19:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=61795"},"modified":"2023-11-23T14:23:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T19:23:49","slug":"growing-concern-around-rbcs-purchase-of-hsbc-canada-prompts-launch-of-stop-the-rbc-takeover-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/press-release\/61795\/growing-concern-around-rbcs-purchase-of-hsbc-canada-prompts-launch-of-stop-the-rbc-takeover-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"GROWING CONCERN AROUND RBC\u2019S PURCHASE OF HSBC CANADA PROMPTS LAUNCH OF \u2018STOP THE RBC TAKEOVER\u2019 CAMPAIGN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Campaign calling on Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to block the biggest bank merger in Canadian history that raises significant concerns on housing, affordability, competition, Indigenous rights and climate change, if it\u2019s allowed to proceed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

OTTAWA, ON (November 23, 2023)<\/strong> – This is a deal that\u2019s bad for everyone but the bankers<\/strong>. <\/strong>That\u2019s the strong message sent from representatives of a growing collection of civil society organizations who are raising significant concerns over the proposed acquisition of HSBC Canada by RBC.<\/p>\n\n

If approved, it would be the largest bank merger in Canadian history, leaving Canadians with higher rates and fewer financial choices, while further concentrating the power and market dominance of Canada\u2019s biggest bank. <\/p>\n\n

This takeover will put further pressure on housing affordability and cost of living at a time when Canadians are already suffering. As one of the world\u2019s top funders of fossil fuels, taking over HSBC\u2019s Canadian operations, at a time when its parent company was already taking concrete action to lower its financed emissions, is a significant step backwards on climate.<\/p>\n\n

RBC also has a deeply troubling track record on Indigenous reconciliation, by funding projects that violate Indigenous rights and lack meaningful policies on Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s why a number of organizations including Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, Environmental Defence, Gidimt\u2019en Checkpoint, The Shift, Greenpeace Canada, Stand.earth, Shift: Action for Pension Health and Planet Health, For Our Kids, Re:Generation, Decolonial Solidarity, Climate Action Network Canada and Leadnow<\/strong> came together to launch the STOP THE RBC TAKEOVER <\/strong>campaign<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLess competition in banking means higher prices and fewer options for Canadians already struggling to meet record mortgage payments,\u201d said Keldon Bester, Executive Director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. <\/strong>\u201cCanadians should not have to bear the cost of eroding competition in our banking sector as a result of our weak competition laws. Minister Freeland must block this transaction and protect competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cCanada\u2019s biggest bank is a major actor in the housing space. They have an obligation to contribute to the realization of the right to housing, especially in light of the unprecedented unaffordability faced by many homeowners and tenants,\u201d added Leilani Farha, Global Director of The Shift, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing.<\/strong> \u201cInstead, by purchasing a competitor, they grow their personal lending business, increase the cost to borrow for HSBC mortgage holders, and decrease options for future homeowners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

RBC also remains under investigation by the Competition Bureau for allegations of misleading climate advertising<\/a> after six members of the public submitted a formal complaint<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Canada\u2019s biggest banks have contributed almost 20% of the fossil fuel financing from all western banks since the Paris climate agreement was signed. RBC has contributed over $340B (CAD) in fossil fuel financing since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2016, making it one of the world\u2019s largest funders of the companies and industries driving climate change. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIf the federal government wants to keep its promises to Canadians about climate action, it has to regulate the financial sector in a way that aligns with Paris Agreement commitments,\u201d added Julie Segal, Senior Manager, Climate Finance, Environmental Defence.<\/strong> \u201cHSBC global is moving towards decarbonization while RBC is showing a tragic track record on climate action, underinvesting in clean energy, and disproportionately investing in oil, gas, and coal. Canada can only keep a safer climate if our financial institutions actively invest in climate solutions instead of climate pollution. Approving this deal, especially without adding any climate-related conditions, would entrench Canada\u2019s financial sector in the wrong direction on climate action.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

RBC\u2019s policies of funding projects that lack Free, Prior, and Informed Consent is leading to them financing police violence and human rights violations around the world including on sovereign Indigenous lands like the Wet’suwet’en traditional territory, as the primary funder of Coastal GasLink. The project lacks the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en Hereditary Chiefs \u2013 the rightful titleholders of the territory. At its 2023 AGM, the bank deployed police to harass and intimidate Indigenous shareholders and proxy holders, and applied a colour-coded reserve system, forcing Indigenous delegates into a second room.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIn 2023, no bank that operates like RBC should get any more opportunity to expand when they violate Indigenous sovereignty through their investments in fossil fuel projects that are destroying our lands, water and air,\u201d said Eve Saint, Wet’suwet’en Land Defender.<\/strong> \u201cCanada and its institutions must not only embrace Free, Prior and Informed Consent but ground it in all of its policies and decisions. RBC doesn\u2019t, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m calling on Minister Freeland to kill the deal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

The Conservatives<\/a>, NDP<\/a>, Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/a>, and Green Party have all publicly raised concerns about the proposed acquisition, as has the Finance Committee<\/a>. They all have asked the Federal Government to kill the deal.<\/p>\n\n

Ottawa has signalled a commitment to addressing the housing crisis, improving competition, addressing climate change, and integrating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into its policies and legislation. Approving this bank takeover is a step backward that we can\u2019t afford to take.<\/p>\n\n

This deal raises concerns in these four key areas of government policy, that is why we are calling on Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to STOP THE HSBC TAKEOVER<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

-30-<\/p>\n\n

Notes to Editor: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A background report outlining the concerns and consequences of the deal is available at RBCtakeover.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Subject matter experts from the areas highlighted are available to speak to the concerns around the RBC takeover.<\/p>\n\n

For more information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Kari Vierimaa, KPW Communications<\/p>\n\n

416.578.0488 | kari@kpwcomms.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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