Curtis Tate Published

State Treasurer Restricts 5 Banks Over Fossil Fuel Stance

West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore answers questions pertaining to the West Virginia Jumpstart Saving Program during a meeting of the House Education Committee on Feb. 11, 2021.
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West Virginia’s Treasurer has placed five financial institutions on a list that bars them from state banking contracts.

BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are now on the state’s restricted financial institutions list.

Treasurer Riley Moore’s office has determined that the companies are engaged in a boycott of fossil fuels.

The list is the result of Senate Bill 262, which became law this year. Kentucky lawmakers enacted a similar law this year.

The goal is to punish banks that are, or appear to be, refusing to finance fossil fuel energy. But most companies have goals to reduce their carbon footprint or eliminate it entirely.

Indeed, the Treasurer’s office notes that inclusion on the list is not an indication of “unsafe or unsound operating conditions at any financial institution nor any risk to consumer deposits.”