Despite investing billions in the fossil fuel industry, the SNB faced major resistance at its 2023 AGM, held at the Kursaal in Bern. A coalition of organizations, critical shareholders, and frontline activists demanded that the SNB divest from TotalEnergies, which is behind the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). Ugandan and Tanzanian activists, including Hilda Nakabuye (Fridays for Future Uganda) and Bakara Lenga (GreenFaith International), called on the SNB to sell its $620 million stake in TotalEnergies. Outside the AGM, activists staged a symbolic protest with a giant pipeline installation.