According to a West Virginia’s WBOY TV news item, the state has named five banks to its first “Restricted Financial Institution List” due to a “conflict of interest” over coal policy.
State Treasurer Riley Moore announced on July 29 that BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. are ineligible for state banking contracts because they are “engaged in boycotts of fossil fuel companies.” The treasurer further said that “Any institution with policies aimed at weakening our energy industries, tax base and job market has a clear conflict of interest in handling taxpayer dollars.”
“Each financial institution placed on the Restricted Financial Institution List today has published written environmental or social policies categorically limiting commercial relations with energy companies engaged in certain coal mining, extraction or utilization activities, rather than considering the financial or risk profile for each company,” Moore said. The news was also covered in the Boston Globe, New York Times, and Politico.
