https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-05/cba-terminates-adviser-role-for-adani-carmichael-coal-mine/6675722
Obviously the pressure was to much for CBA after they were clearly burnt during the royal commision for charging fees to dead people, money laundering, and penalising customers for late fees.
goodness!! How clean are those banks?
Adani Carmichael mine: Commonwealth Bank walks away from financial adviser role for $16 billion coal mine project in central QueenslandPosted WedWednesday 5 AugAugust 2015 at 9:23pm, updated FriFriday 7 AugAugust 2015 at 1:00pmCoal trucks at open cut mine.(Audience submitted: Araluen - file photo)ShareThe Commonwealth Bank has pulled out of its role as financial adviser to the controversial $16 billion Adani coal mine project in central Queensland, after the Federal Court put development on hold because of a bureaucratic bungle involving a skink and a snake.The bank, Australia's largest lender to resources projects, issued a statement confirming its role as financial adviser to the proposed Carmichael mine had been terminated.The move came after the mine's approval was set aside by the Federal Court because of issues arising from advice about two vulnerable animal species - the yakka skink and the ornamental snake.Tim Buckley, from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said the Commonwealth Bank leaving its adviser role was a "major revelation"."It's come out today that the Commonwealth Bank's advisory mandate with Adani in Australia has lapsed," he said."To me, that is a major revelation because ultimately when global banks are looking at projects in Australia, they look to the Australian banks who have the on-the-ground knowledge, on-the-ground feel for the project, to come out and endorse a project."Then the international banks can piggyback effectively off the local knowledge, and effectively, due diligence of the big Australian banks."For CommBank not to be involved, then by definition they're not endorsing the project, that makes it much, much harder for Adani to then find another global group of institutions who are willing to fund this project."Mr Buckley said banks would only take an advisory role if they thought the project was viable and going to go ahead."If you're letting an advisory mandate lapse on a $10 billion project - banks are not just going to walk away from multi-million-dollar fees on a project if they think they're commercially viable and they endorse them," he said."I think there is an element of endorsement by a financial institution when they are mandated as the adviser to the project."Mr Buckley said he believed the project was "commercially struggling"."It's not commercially viable in the current market and to some degree, pressure has been on CommBank to justify their involvement in this project, given it's opening up effectively the largest new coal project in the world, at a time when countries like America, and China, and France and Germany are rapidly moving in the other direction, and saying the world's got to decarbonise," he said."For Australia to be going to opening the biggest new coal project in the world, it's certainly running against history."'Unbankable, unprofitable and unconscionable'Greenpeace said the CBA's decision to walk away from the mine was the right choice, environmentally and financially.Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule said in a statement that the project was "not worth the paper it's written on"."The Commonwealth Bank can see the future, and it's not powered by dirty coal," he said.The Federal Court found the Environment Minister did not properly consider advice about the ornamental snake.(ABC News)"Intelligent investors realise that this project was never going to work - it's unbankable, unprofitable and unconscionable."With the Commonwealth Bank giving up on the project, now is the time for the other three big Australian banks to do the same and rule out financing for the Carmichael project."The $16 billion open cut and underground coal mine and 189-kilometre rail link was approved by the Federal Government in July 2014.But the approval was set aside by the court on Wednesday after it was found Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt had not properly considered advice about the yakka skink and the ornamental snake.The Mackay Conservation Group launched a challenge to the mine project earlier this year over the vulnerable species.Wednesday's court ruling was consented to by Indian company Adani and the Federal Government.In a statement, the Federal Department of the Environment said the ruling was taken at the request of "all of the parties to the court proceedings".It said the entire approval process would not have to be reconsidered.The department said it was "a technical, administrative matter".It said it expected to take six to eight weeks to prepare advice and the supporting documentation, so Mr Hunt could reconsider his final decision.
