Ex-archbishop of Canterbury urges cathedrals to ditch banks funding fossil fuels
Dr Rowan Williams, who held the post from 2002 to 2012, said he wants to see more Church of England cathedrals switching to 'more ethically grounded banking options' after several recently committed to do so.
Durham, Southwark, Truro and Worcester Cathedrals said they would move away from banks which fund fossil fuels, joining Chelmsford, Derby and Sheffield Cathedrals, who either already bank with a fossil-free institution, or have committed to switch.
Dr Williams said: 'It is excellent news that so many cathedrals have already signalled their willingness to change to more ethically grounded banking options.
'The public profile and reputation of cathedrals remains high, even in a society that is less openly religious than it was, so the standards of vision and hope that they set matter to everyone.
'It would be wonderful to see more joining in this witness.'
His comments come as green group Christian Climate Action launches a campaign calling on cathedrals and the wider church to move away from Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Natwest and Lloyds because of their ties to fossil fuel firms.
The group has already coordinated vigils and protests outside cathedrals across the UK, including Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Bristol and Ripon.
Dr Stephen Edwards, the Dean of Worcester Cathedral, said its declaration of a climate emergency and its Eco Church programme focuses on 'the wider implications of the climate crisis and how we can make a difference across the Cathedral's activity'.
'We began exploring alternative banking arrangements last year and are working to seek the best ethical and sustainable approach to financial processes.
'In doing so we live out our values as a Christian organisation proclaiming the Kingdom of God.'
It comes as part of a wider trend of organisations moving to greener banks, such as The Cooperative Bank, Nationwide, Starling and Triodos.
Adam Durrant, campaign's officer at Make My Money Matter – which campaigns for green finance, said: 'It's fantastic to see even more cathedrals and churches leaving these polluting high street banks.
'They are part of a growing movement demanding better from their money, including universities, charities and medical institutions.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
India's external investment deficit a hurdle for rupee as Asia rides weak dollar's coattails
MUMBAI, June 10 (Reuters) - The rupee is likely to lag most of its Asian peers in a softer dollar environment, analysts say, with the Indian currency weighed down by an imbalance between what the country owes and owns abroad. While currencies such as the Singapore dollar, Korean won and Taiwan dollar have surged 6% to 9.5% this year, the rupee is nearly flat. Analysts at Barclays, Jefferies, and ANZ attribute the divergence to differences in the net international investment positions (NIIP) with Asian economies. NIIP is the gap between what a country owns overseas and what it owes to the rest of the world. As of December 2024, India had a negative NIIP, owing about $350 billion more to the world than it owned in foreign assets. In contrast, most other Asian countries hold a positive NIIP, meaning their ownership of foreign assets exceeds their external liabilities. Unlike Taiwan, South Korea, China and Hong Kong, the absence of a positive NIIP for India implies underperformance of the rupee, said Mitul Kotecha, head of FX and EM macro strategy, Asia, at Barclays. A positive NIIP usually stems from consistent trade surpluses, with excess earnings often invested in U.S. assets. When the dollar softens, the value of those assets drops. To protect against that, investors hedge by selling dollars and buying their own currencies, which tends to boost the local units. According to Barclays, Singapore, Taiwan and China and Korea hold the most liquid net international assets in Asia, while India and Indonesia hold the least. India's international investment position implies that the rupee "may lag the rest of Asia," said Brad Bechtel, head of global FX at Jefferies. "It's not like a very negative story. It's just more of a lagging story," Bechtel said. The NIIP positions of Asian countries have come into focus amid investors seeking safety due to a persistently weaker dollar. Analysts and option markets concur that the dollar hasn't likely bottomed yet. Minutes of the Federal Reserve's May meeting cited a rise in hedging demand as one of the factors contributing to the dollar's decline. International investment surpluses in many Asian markets could boost their respective currencies, per analysts at BMI, a Fitch group company. "This would come as overseas capital is repatriated or as firms move to hedge previously unhedged FX exposure," the firm said in a recent note, pointing to the sharp appreciation in the Taiwanese dollar as an example.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Nervous families freeze spending in blow to growth hopes
Nervous families are freezing spending in a blow to hopes that the UK economy will continue its growth spurt. Retail sales rose by just 1pc in the year to May, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The study, which suggests households are cutting back, will pile fresh pressure on Rachel Reeves amid concerns that the economy's surprisingly strong momentum in the first three months of 2025 is evaporating. The beleaguered Chancellor will likely be forced to find tens of billions of pounds more in the autumn to repair her fiscal headroom if her hopes of a growth miracle fall short. It raises the prospect of further tax rises. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said families were already cutting back on non-essentials amid growing nervousness. She added: 'Consumers put the brakes on spending, with the slowest growth in 2025 so far. This was due largely to declines in non-food sales, as fashion and full price big-ticket items were held back by lower consumer confidence.' Figures from Barclays separately showed card spending grew well below inflation at 1pc in the year to May, down from 4.5pc in April. Sarah Bradbury, from the Institute of Grocery Distribution, said confidence improved slightly in May but remained 'fragile' beneath the surface, adding: 'Shoppers are still navigating financial uncertainty and continue to rely on money-saving tactics like planning ahead and buying on promotion. 'While the mood has brightened, we've yet to see this translate into meaningful changes in behaviour.' Hiring slump It comes as Donald Trump's trade war and Britain's deteriorating job market spark uncertainty for households. Hiring confidence has fallen at the fastest rate since the height of Covid in summer 2020, according to ManpowerGroup UK. Figures from the recruiter revealed that employer confidence has plunged by 12 points to a net score of 19 since the start of the year. It is now at the lowest level since early 2023. In several large industries such as communications, energy and the public sector, more employers are now looking to reduce rather than increase their workforce for the first time since the pandemic. The share of bosses blaming headcount changes on economic challenges almost doubled from the start of the year, to 64pc from 36pc. Petra Tagg, at ManpowerGroup UK, said: 'Hitting this new low is a symptom of the entire labour market re-aligning after the changes imposed by the National Insurance and living wage increases, alongside the recent uncertainties of the US trade tariffs. 'From here, employers will 'wait and see' to gauge the volume of the reset rather than making any swift decisions towards the end of the year.' Meanwhile, BDO said there was a risk of companies 'being paralysed by fear' and stagnating if they put off hiring and investment decisions. The consultancy surveyed 500 C-suite executives at global businesses with more than $100m (£74m) in revenue. Some 84pc described global risks as more defined by crisis than ever.
Finextra
6 hours ago
- Finextra
Barclays to roll out Microsoft Co-Pilot to 100,000 staff
Barclays Bank is to extend its delivery of Microsoft Co-Pilot AI agents to 100,000 staff worldwide. 0 Microsoft 365 Copilot will be integrated into the bank's own staff productivity tool, creating a single agent for employee self-service such as booking business travel, checking policy compliance, or finding answers to HR-related questions. An agentic dashboard accessed by Microsoft Viva will be deployed to help staff with 'moments that matter', like booking desks or annual leave, as well as serving personalised news and announcements. Craig Bright, Group CIO and deputy Group co-chief operating officer, Barclays, says: 'At Barclays, we've been leveraging the power of AI, and now GenAI, to drive deeper insights, improve efficiency and create more intuitive experience across the organisation. 'Our roll-out of Copilot, integrated with our colleague productivity tool, is a significant step forward in simplifying the way we work, making it easier to get things done." The agreement follows a successful initial deployment of Microsoft 365 Copilot across 15,000 Barclays employees and builds on the bank's adoption of Microsoft Teams as its preferred collaboration platform, and the deployment of Microsoft Viva Engage as its employee community tool.
