Swiss National Bank to face Credit Suisse and climate protests at fraught AGM
The Swiss National Bank has come into the spotlight following its assistance in UBS’ takeover of Credit Suisse.
Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images
The Swiss National Bank will hold its annual general meeting in Bern on Friday against a backdrop of protest over its action on climate change and its role in the emergency sale of Credit Suisse to Swiss rival UBS.
The central bank played a key role in brokering the rescue of Credit Suisse over the course of a chaotic weekend in March, as a flight of deposits and plummeting share price took the 167-year-old institution to the brink of collapse.
The deal remains mired in controversy and legal challenges, particularly over the lack of investor input and the unconventional decision to wipe out 15 billion Swiss francs ($16.8 billion) of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds.
The demise of the country’s second-largest bank fomented widespread discontent and severely damaged Switzerland’s long-held reputation for financial stability. It also came against a febrile political backdrop, with federal elections coming up in October.
While the SNB will no doubt face questions and grievances from shareholders about the Credit Suisse situation on Friday, the country’s network of climate activists will also be seeking to use the central bank’s unwanted spotlight to challenge its investment policies.
Unlike many major central banks, the SNB operates publicly-traded company, with just over half of its roughly 25 million Swiss franc ($28.1 million) share capital held by public shareholders — including various Swiss cantons (states) and cantonal banks — while the remaining shares are held by private investors.
A shareholder walks past a giant inflate balloom during a protest by climate activists ahead of the general meeting of shareholders of UBS bank in Basel, on April 5, 2023, following the takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse hastily arranged by the Swiss government on March 19 to prevent a financial meltdown. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
More than 170 climate activists have now purchased a SNB share, according to the SNB Coalition, a dedicated pressure group spun out of Alliance Climatique Suisse — an umbrella organization representing around 140 Swiss environmental campaign groups.
Around 50 of the activist shareholders will be in attendance on Friday, and activists plan to make around a dozen speeches on stage at the AGM, climate campaigner Jonas Kampus told CNBC on Wednesday. Protests will also be held outside the event.
The group is calling for the SNB to dispose of its stock holdings of “companies that cause serious environmental damage and/or violate fundamental human rights,” pointing to the central bank’s own investment guidelines.
In particular, campaigners have highlighted SNB holdings in Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Repsol, Enbridge and Duke Energy.
Members of a Ugandan community objecting to TotalEnergies’ East African Crude Oil Pipeline, will also attend on Friday, with one planning to speak on stage directly to the SNB directorate.
As well as a full exit from fossil fuel investments, activists are demanding that the SNB implement the “one for one rule,” — a capital requirement designed to prevent banks and insurers benefiting from activities that are detrimental for the transition to net zero.
In this context, the SNB would be required to set aside one Swiss franc of its own funds to cover potential losses for each franc allocated to financing new fossil fuel exploration or extraction.
Ahead of the AGM, the central bank declined on legal grounds to schedule three motions tabled by the activists, and said on Wednesday that it would not comment on protest plans, instead directing CNBC to its formal agenda. Yet Kampus suggested that just the process of submitting the motions itself had helped expand public and political awareness of the issues.
“From all sides, there is public pressure and also political pressure that the SNB needs to change things. At this moment, the SNB is really far behind in terms of their actions taken compared to other central banks,” Kampus told CNBC via telephone, adding that the SNB takes a “very conservative view” of its mandate regarding price stability and financial stability, which is “very narrow.”
The shareholders’ cause is also backed by a motion in parliament, with support from lawmakers ranging from the Green Party to the Centre [center-right party], which demands an extension of the SNB’s mandate to cover climate and environmental risks.
“While other central banks around the world are going well beyond the steps taken by the SNB in this respect — the SNB has repeatedly taken the position that its mandate does not give it sufficient leeway to take climate risks fully into account in its decisions and monetary policy instruments,” reads the motion, filed on March 16 by Green Party lawmaker Delphine Klopfenstein Broggini.
“The present parliamentary initiative is intended to ensure this leeway and to make it clear that the SNB must take climate risks into account when conducting monetary policy.”
The motion argues that climate risks are “classified worldwide as significant financial risks that can endanger financial and price stability,” concluding that it is in “Switzerland’s overall interest that the SNB proactively address these issues” as other central banks are seeking to do.
Kampus and his fellow activists hope the national focus on the SNB after the Credit Suisse crisis provides fertile ground to advance concerns about climate risk, which he said poses a risk to the financial system that is “several times larger” than the potential fallout from Credit Suisse’s collapse.
“We feel that there is also a window of opportunity on the SNB side in that they maybe this time are a bit more humble, because they obviously also have done some things wrong in terms of the Credit Suisse crash,” Kampus said.
He noted that the central bank has always asserted that climate risk was incorporated into its models and that there was “no need for further exchange with the public of further transparency.”
“Very central to the SNB’s work is that the public just needs to trust them. Trust is something that is very important to the central bank, and to demand trust from the public without leading up to it or supporting it with further evidence that we can trust them in the long run is quite scary, especially when we don’t know what their climate model is,” he said.
The SNB has long argued that its passive investment strategy, which invests in global indexes, is part of its mandate to remain market neutral, and that it is not for the central bank to engage in climate policy. Activists hope mounting political pressure will eventually force a change in legislation to broaden the SNB’s mandate to accommodate climate and human rights as risks to financial and price stability.
UBS and Credit Suisse also faced protests from climate activists at their respective AGMs earlier this month over investment in fossil fuel companies.
![Watch Kia's new EV4 hatch carve up the Nurburgring, nearly on two wheels [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/Kia-EV4-Nurburgring.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Kia’s upcoming entry-level EV has finally made its way to the famous Nurburgring for testing. The EV4 hatch was spotted ripping across the track, nearly on two wheels at one point, as Kia preps for its big debut.
According to Kia, the EV4 is “an entirely new type of EV sedan. ” It was first unveiled last October during Kia’s first annual EV Day, alongside the EV3 and EV5 as part of its new low-cost lineup.
The EV5 launched in China last year, while the EV3 is already rolling out in Korea and Europe. Next up, we will finally see the production version of the EV4.
Although its four-door format suggests it’s a sedan, Kia said the EV4’s bold design is a symbol of the company’s innovation. Its low nose, long-tail silhouette, and added roof spoiler give it an almost racecar-like feel.
With its official debut approaching, Kia’s EV4 has been spotted out in the wild several times. Last week, it was caught testing in the US for the first time.
A hatchback model has also been spotted. It was first caught on European roads this summer and in the US earlier this month.
Kia EV4 hatch takes on the Nurburgring as debut looms
After the EV4 was spotted racing across the Nurburgring for the first time, we are getting our best look yet at the upcoming Kia model.
The video from CarSpyMedia shows the EV4 hatch carving up sections of the track. Several times, you can see the EV4 is being pushed to the limits, nearly going up on two wheels.
However, with a low center of gravity and likely added stabilization tech, the EV4 appears to handle it with ease. You can also see the difference between the sedan model and the hatchback, with the bulky backside.
As it takes on the track, it almost looks like the 576 hp EV6 GT, Kia’s fastest and most powerful car. At least for now.
Kia is expected to officially reveal the EV4 by the end of the year, with deliveries starting in 2025. Prices are expected to be in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. The hatchback model is likely aimed at Europe, but it could also find a market in the US as buyers drift toward more efficient options.
Ahead of the LA Auto Show later this week, Kia is teasing five new vehicles for the US, at least one being an EV. Will it be the EV4? EV3?
Source: CarSpyMedia
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Elon Musk is hinting at Tesla making bigger electric cars, but you shouldn’t hold your breath as it’s not the first time he said that.
In the last few hours, Musk responded to two fans on X, asking Tesla to build bigger vehicles to support larger families.
Musk often promotes the idea of having bigger families as he is afraid of declining populations due to low birth rates in some countries.
With the first one, the CEO responded with a simple “OK,” and with the other, he elaborated a bit more by referencing the recently unveiled Tesla Robovan and “some other things”:
Musk appears to be hinting at Tesla’s work on a bigger electric vehicle that has yet to be unveiled.
While interesting, it’s hard to give too much weight to the comment, considering Musk claimed that Tesla has been working on a higher passenger capacity vehicle for years.
A “high passenger-density urban transport” vehicle has been in Tesla’s official product roadmap since 2016 and has yet to be unveiled, unless you count the Robovan unveiled last month, but that’s completely attached to Tesla’s self-driving effort as the vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals.
As part of Tesla’s shift toward autonomous driving, the automaker has pulled back plans for several new electric vehicle programs in favor of those without any driver inputs, like Cybercab and Robotvan.
Musk has also discussed the possibility of Tesla making an electric van on several occasions in the last few years.
Tesla is expected to soon unveil two new vehicles to be launch next year, but those are based on the Model 3 and Model Y and therefore, they aren’t likely to be bigger vehicles.
Electrek’s Take
Like most things Elon says lately, it goes in my “I’ll believe it when I see it” folder.
That said, I think an electric van that can be configured for cargo, camper, or passenger, would make a ton of sense in Tesla’s vehicle lineup.
Of course, it’s harder to get the greenlight for a vehicle program like that if your CEO is perpetually convinced that the company is on the verge of achieving self-driving and making steering wheels obsolete.
I’m more of the opinion that Tesla should have played it more careful and continue working on growing its human-driveable EV lineup while working on self-driving.
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Penske Truck Leasing is rolling out rooftop solar on its US truck leasing, rental, and maintenance buildings, starting in Illinois.
Penske Truck Leasing, which offers an electric truck fleet leasing program, wants to cut emissions and save energy, so it’s activated its first rooftop solar system at its new facility in Channahon, Illinois (pictured). The 200 kW system is expected to generate about 80% of the building’s energy needs, and the rest will be supplied by the local utility.
The next Penske Truck Leasing rooftop solar system to come online will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan, “in the coming months,” followed by another in Linden, New Jersey, in 2025. All three of these new buildings are part of Penske’s LEED building program, which is designed to reduce energy use and promote sustainability.
Seven of Penske’s existing facilities in California will also get solar retrofits. These locations, which include Fresno, Hayward, La Mirada, National City, Riverside, San Diego, and San Leandro, are expected to generate about 600 kW of renewable energy in total.
Penske has teamed up with Sunrock Distributed Generation under a power purchase agreement to make the California upgrades happen. The company is also working with ForeFront Power, based in San Francisco, as its lead consultant for the solar rollout.
On average, these solar-powered Penske facilities will generate around 1 million kWh of renewable energy each year, preventing about 442 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. That’s equivalent to the amount of energy needed to power nearly 90 homes for a year.
Drew Cullen, senior vice president of fuels and facility services at Penske, highlighted the significance of this move, noting:
Our solar program is an important piece of our renewable energy strategy, and ForeFront Power continues to be an outstanding partner in helping us bring these projects to fruition.
These investments will allow us to directly generate our own renewable energy to power our locations and continue to support our customers with sustainable solutions.
Penske Truck Leasing, part of Penske Transportation Solutions, is headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, and operates over 437,000 vehicles across North America, with nearly 1,000 maintenance facilities and more than 2,500 rental locations. Its investment in solar power is a key part of its broader sustainability strategy to cut emissions and reduce reliance on traditional energy sources.
Read more: Penske and Hitachi just launched a big electric truck charging pilot
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