EU: Allianz, Deutsche Bank, KfW & Amundi distance themselves from Evian letter
Unofficial summary translation of German original 'Finanzriesen widersprechen Siemens- und Total-Chefs' published in Tagesspiegel Background [subscription needed for full article access]:
...Siemens CEO Roland Busch and his counterpart at French oil and gas giant Total Energies, Patrick Pouyanné... have jointly written a letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, in which they insist on several measures to improve the competitiveness of European companies.
One of these is the immediate abolition of the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)... according to the letter, which is dated October 6 and which Busch and Pouyanné claim to have written "on behalf of 46 CEOs."
...Research by Tagesspiegel Background has revealed that many do not stand behind the unequivocal position on the CSDDD expressed in the letter. Deutsche Bank, German state-owned bank KfW, insurance giant Allianz and French asset manager Amundi all confirmed to Tagesspiegel Background that they continue to support the EU supply chain law CSDDD.
The letter was not coordinated between all 46 companies and financial institutions but sent to many of them for their information only after it had been shared with Merz and Macron, as several sources independently confirmed to Tagesspiegel Background...
[...Amundi:] "We did not have a representative on site, so we neither participated nor signed a letter."
[...Allianz:] "We support the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act,” the company replied to a request from Tagesspiegel Background.
"At the same time, we welcome the EU's current efforts to ensure risk-based implementation of due diligence obligations and we strive for harmonized implementation across the EU countries", the written response continues. Allianz also emphasized: "We support the CSDDD requirement to implement a mandatory climate transition plan in line with the decarbonization targets of the Paris Agreement."
[...Deutsche Bank:] "Deutsche Bank supports the objectives of the CSDDD and the integration of human rights and environmental aspects into corporate value chains, but advocates a risk-based and proportionate approach – without excessive liability risks or bureaucratic burden." This does not mean excluding all liability, as implicitly demanded in the letter from [Siemens CEO] Busch and [TotalEnergies CEO] Pouyanné...
[Deutsche Bank also included] an explicit warning that, in order to manage their credit risk, credit institutions would have to question their customers individually about environmental and human rights risks in their supply chains if there were no or only vague reporting requirements. Many banks fear this and have therefore repeatedly spoken out against significantly watering down the EU's sustainability reporting law CSRD...
[KfW:] "As 'Bank aus Verantwortung' we expressly share the objectives of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) – in particular the protection of human rights and the environment."
...Tagesspiegel Background did not ask all Evian meeting participants from the financial sector about the letter... However, it can be assumed that other corporate leaders who were at the table in Evian are also struggling with individual demands from the letter ultimately sent by Siemens CEO Busch and his TotalEnergies colleague Pouyanné.
...In an inquiry on Friday, Tagesspiegel Background asked the Munich-based company [Siemens] to provide details on the drafting of the letter...
Instead, Siemens responded with several general statements, such as that the letter highlights "five key areas” in which governments "must take action to ensure the competitiveness of European industry... The proposal to abolish the CSDDD is cited as an example."
...Siemens also declined to answer Tagesspiegel Background's question about how trustworthy such supposedly joint demands by business leaders can still be if it later turns out that several players do not support all messages. When asked whether this could be considered an attempt at political manipulation, there was no response either. "Please understand that we cannot comment on individual questions," the company. wrote...