The state Treasurer’s Office has sent letters to six of America’s largest investment companies, warning that they may be ineligible for some West Virginia contracts over their environmental policies.
The letters were sent to BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo. MetroNews and other news organizations got the letters through public records requests.
The warnings came about after this year’s passage of Senate Bill 262, directing the Treasurer to keep a list of financial institutions that steer clear of investments in fossil fuel companies, possibly resulting in decisions to withhold state deposits from those bankers.
“Earlier this year our office proposed, and the Legislature passed, Senate Bill 262 to push back against unfair discrimination against our coal, oil and natural gas industries by the financial sector as part of the so-called ‘environmental, social and governance’ or ‘ESG’ investing movement,” Moore stated earlier this week. “We’ve now demonstrated we are serious about enforcing this law.”
The law and the letters give each company 30 days to respond and provide “information demonstrating that it is not engaged in a boycott of energy companies.” The letters warn that each company may be rendered “ineligible to enter into, or remain in, banking contracts with the State of West Virginia.”
“A financial institution placed on the Restricted Financial Institution List will be removed…
