The Banks Are Being Called to Account
THE BANKS ARE BEING CALLED TO ACCOUNT.
BankTrack and the Fair Steel Coalition — with Green Advocates Liberia
— have called on the banks financing ArcelorMittal to temporarily
suspend finance until the company works with communities to provide
remedy and puts safeguards in place to prevent future harm.
The case is documented in their joint media release of October 14,
2026, following the Disclose investigation into ArcelorMittal's
Liberia operations. The banks were first warned about ArcelorMittal's
human rights impacts in Liberia in July 2024. Since then, according to
DealLogic figures cited in the release, global banks have helped
ArcelorMittal raise over US$2.3 billion through at least five
corporate lending and bond underwriting deals — while Liberian
communities lost homes, crops and livelihoods.
The banks named, from most to least exposed: SMBC Group, JPMorgan
Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, HSBC, Santander,
Standard Chartered, Mizuho...