19 attorneys general launch investigation into banks pushing ESG

Nineteen attorneys general in conservative states are launching an investigation into America’s six largest banks who are heavily involved in ESG. 

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is a form of grading companies and countries – and soon people, experts warn – based on how well they conform to the prevailing narrative on environmental and social issues. For example, the more environmentally friendly or racially inclusive a company purports to be, the more virtuous it is and thus more worthy of investment. If a company’s ESG score is below certain thresholds, they are not to be invested in at all. 

The attorneys general served civil investigative demands to Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, all of whom are involved with the United Nations’ Net-Zero Banking Alliance. The project’s aim is that by 2050, the world’s largest banks will include only ESG-compliant companies in their investment and lending portfolios; that is, the world’s largest banks will commit to exclusively investing in or lending to companies which are “environmentally friendly.” 

“The Net-Zero Banking Alliance is a massive worldwide agreement by major banking institutions, overseen by the UN, to starve companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities of credit on national and international markets,” Missouri State Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. 

“We are leading a coalition investigating banks for ceding authority to the UN, which will only result in the killing of American companies that don’t subscribe to the woke, climate agenda,” Schmitt continued. “These banks are accountable to American laws — we don’t let international bodies set the standards for our businesses.” 

These same six banks will also participate in a “climate scenario exercise” conducted by the Federal Reserve, as reported recently by America’s Frontline News. 

According to a statement by the Federal Reserve Board, “six of the nation's largest banks will participate in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise designed to enhance the ability of supervisors and firms to measure and manage climate-related financial risks.”  

The simulation will test the “resilience” of the banks under “different hypothetical climate scenarios.” Participating banks are Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.  

The exercise will commence early 2023 and is expected to finish at the end of the year.  

The nature of these “climate-related financial risks” is unclear, but the Fed’s statement clarifies that this is not a “stress test” to see if the banks will have enough capital in a scenario like a climate-caused recession. Instead, this exercise will be “exploratory in nature and does not have capital consequences.”  

The rest of the Federal Reserve Board’s explanation offered no further clarity, making reference to cryptic phrases such as “climate pathways.”  

“By considering a range of possible future climate pathways and associated economic and financial developments, scenario analysis can assist firms and supervisors in understanding how climate-related financial risks may manifest and differ from historical experience.”  

The “climate exercise” may validate predictions that banks and financial institutions will become the “new legislatures” as they force individuals and companies into ESG compliance.  

Experts have been warning that ESG investing will lead to banks and financial institutions becoming the “new legislators” as they force compliance with certain behaviors, including ESG. Last week, JP Morgan Chase abruptly canceled the bank account of Yeezy, rapper Kanye West’s company, while Bank of America canceled the bank account belonging to Catturd, a popular conservative voice on social media, without warning or explanation. Similarly, Chase Bank closed former Trump national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn’s bank account in 2021 due to “reputational reasons,” according to The Heritage Foundation.    

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who heads one of the world’s largest investment firms, was candid about how the company approaches ESG.   

“You have to force behaviors, and at BlackRock, we’re forcing behaviors,” said Fink in 2017.     

“ESG matters are an important consideration in how we do business,” says JP Morgan Chase’s website.  

But at a recent investor seminar, JP Morgan Chase CEO Dimon said “investors don’t give a s***” about ESG and blasted company executives for “ceding governance to do-gooder kids on a committee” based on their compliance with ESG, according to the New York Post.  

Dimon's remarks come as companies and institutions are taking financial nose-dives due to their participation in the ESG movement.  

One of those corporations is BlackRock, which is also one of JP Morgan Chase’s top shareholders. BlackRock’s commitment to “forcing behaviors” has not been embraced by all, with several US states divesting from the investment giant in recent months. This month, South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis announced plans to pull the state’s remaining $200 million of holdings currently invested in BlackRock. The announcement came a week after Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroder declared his intention to divest $800 million of the state’s holdings from BlackRock, following a similar move by Texas a week earlier.  

Last week, BlackRock was downgraded by UBS analyst Brennan Hawken, who slashed the company’s stock price from $700 to $585 and changed its rating from Buy to Neutral.  

“We are downgrading BLK to Neutral based on environmental pressure to earnings and risk from the firm’s ESG positioning,” Hawken said.