Attorney General Tim Griffin and 17 other state attorneys general announced the conclusion of their investigation into Wells Fargo & Company following the company’s decision to abandon certain Environmental Social Governance (ESG) policies.
“After careful review, we’ve decided to end our investigation into Wells Fargo based on their recent assurances that they are ending improper net-zero emissions policies. If Wells Fargo reverses course, we will not hesitate to reopen our investigation and take action to protect consumers.”
The coalition has been investigating whether Wells Fargo and five other American banks—Bank of America Corporation; Citigroup Inc.; The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and Morgan Stanley—violated antitrust or consumer-protection laws by implementing net-zero emissions policies and restricting financing. By joining initiatives like the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which required member banks to align their portfolios to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and set specific targets for “carbon-intensive sectors” by 2030, these banks potentially compromised their fiduciary obligations to customers and investors and simultaneously usurped the policy-making authority of America’s elected representatives.
Recently, Wells Fargo announced that it was ending its membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. Wells Fargo further announced that it was discontinuing its “sector-specific 2030 interim financed emissions targets” and set a goal to achieve net zero by 2050 for financed emissions.” While other banks have also recently ended their Net-Zero Banking Alliance memberships, only Wells Fargo has publicly ended the ESG goals mandated by the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. The Office of the Tennessee Attorney General will continue to lead the coalition’s investigation into the other five banks.
The investigation was led by Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti. In addition to Arkansas, the other states involved were Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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