Jan 3 (Reuters) – Kentucky on Tuesday warned 11 main monetary corporations, together with Citigroup Inc (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), of potential divestment over their “boycott” of power corporations.
State authorities entities should notify the Treasurer of direct or oblique holdings within the corporations within the record. They need to additionally write to the corporations, asking them to cease the “boycott” failing which, they may very well be topic to divestment, Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball mentioned.
Republicans have been ramping up stress on the finance trade over what they are saying are their more and more aggressive environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.
Previously yr, different states like West Virginia and Texas have additionally boycotted a number of monetary corporations.
A JPMorgan spokesperson mentioned “we imagine our enterprise practices are in keeping with Kentucky legislation, and we’re hopeful a deeper have a look at these info would result in reconsideration,” including that the financial institution was among the many largest financiers of the U.S. conventional and renewable power industries, together with in Kentucky.
The financial institution funds power corporations that embrace American Electrical Energy (AEP.O) and Duke Power Corp (DUK.N) within the state, a supply acquainted with the matter mentioned.
Citigroup declined to remark, whereas BlackRock pointed to a latest testimony in Texas by Dalia Blass, its head of exterior affairs group.
Within the testimony, Blass mentioned BlackRock is a major investor in lots of power corporations like Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N).
Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Modifying by Shailesh Kuber
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