| Using pound coins the protesters spelled out slogans such as "Oil Bank of Scotland" and "Dirty Money Fuels Climate Change." The demonstration, organised by a group called Rising Tide, came hours before RBS reported one of the biggest financial losses in British banking history, writing down some £6 million and reporting a pre-tax loss of roughly £3 billion for the first half of the year.
Rising Tide has critisised RBS for spending some £18 billion on financing the oil sector, compared with £2.6 on renewables. RBS points out that the renewables sector, whilst growing exponentially, still represents a fraction of the finance industry's investments overall, and that RBS is far ahead of its rivals in terms of environmental financing. The protest nonetheless highlights what will inevitably become a bigger issue in the City - that is, whether lending polcies will need to change to help combat climate change.
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