The National Bank has divested itself of its holdings in the mining company Rio Tinto and the energy companies Tullow Oil and EnQuest. The sale of its shares in the energy companies Shell and Chevron was already announced in the spring.

According to a Reuters analysis, the SNB has sold more than double the value of its holdings in oil and gas companies since 2024. It is thus continuing its gradual withdrawal from companies responsible for serious environmental damage and human rights violations.

These steps follow ongoing public advocacy by the Our SNB Coalition, SNB shareholders, and a Mapuche delegation that reported in 2024 on the harmful effects of companies such as Chevron and Shell on their territory in Argentina. "This divestment is a significant step in the right direction," emphasizes Asti Roesle, Head of Financial Center and Climate at the Swiss Climate Alliance. She continues: "But the SNB could use its leeway even more actively, as it is obliged to support Switzerland's climate and biodiversity goals with its financial and monetary policy."

However, the SNB still has work to do: "Unfortunately, the SNB is acting far too slowly. In addition to energy companies, it still holds over USD 100 million in so-called 'tipping point' companies that are responsible for massive biodiversity loss and environmental damage. How many more 'blatts' do we have to endure before the SNB fully complies with its own guidelines?" criticizes Guillaume Durin of BreakFree Suisse.

Transparent communication instead of speculation

The reasons for the SNB's recent divestments remain unclear to Climate Alliance Switzerland. On its website, the SNB explicitly cites systematic water pollution and the destruction of biodiversity as reasons for exclusion from the portfolio. Rio Tinto, Chevron, and Shell have been involved in legal proceedings. Rio Tinto was convicted of water pollution in Canada in January 2025, Chevron had to pay a fine of USD 740 million in May 2025, and Shell is involved in ongoing litigation over water pollution in the Niger Delta, the environmental organization summarizes.

According to Climate Alliance Switzerland, the lack of transparency limits the potentially positive impact of such measures. Dr. Alain Naef of ESSEC Business School notes: "Unlike Norges Bank, which openly communicates its exclusions, the SNB's silence prevents these decisions from setting better market standards." To increase the impact, the SNB should also go beyond a passive investment strategy. Carolin Carella, sustainable finance expert at WWF Switzerland, believes: "A more active investment strategy would enable both the precautionary management of climate and other nature-related risks and the full exploitation of the SNB's monetary policy leeway."

The demands of the "Our SNB Coalition"

·         Greater transparency: The SNB should communicate transparently with the companies in its portfolio. It must be able to explain which companies are excluded and for what reasons, and to what extent it engages with shareholders and exercises its voting rights in the remaining companies in the portfolio.

·         Consistent exclusions: All companies that violate the SNB's investment criteria must be excluded from the National Bank's portfolio.

·         Exercise voting rights and implement an escalation strategy: The SNB should actively exercise its shareholder rights (including voting rights) in all companies in its portfolio to end climate-damaging and rights-violating business practices (in accordance with the recommendation of the 2022 UN expert report). Companies must set time-bound, measurable, and publicly communicated targets. If companies fail to act, they should be excluded within a clearly defined time frame.