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Investment management company BlackRock admitted in its annual filing with the Securities and Exchanges Commission that its CEO Larry Fink's advocacy of environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies could harm its “reputation” and bottom line.
“BlackRock’s business, size and investments result in significant media coverage and increasing attention from a broad range of stakeholders,” said the filing late last month. “This increased scrutiny has resulted in, and may continue to result in, negative publicity and adverse action for BlackRock.”
It continued: “Any perceived or actual action or omission of such, or perceived lack of transparency on the part of BlackRock with respect to matters under review such as ESG, may be viewed differently by different stakeholders and could adversely affect BlackRock's reputation and business, among other things through withdrawals or terminations by customers as well as legal and official measures and controls.”
Fink, who has advocated for investments in clean energy, has come under scrutiny from conservatives, including several Republican attorneys general.
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Larry Fink met with Republicans at a summit in Houston last month after being blacklisted by the state over BlackRock's ESG advocacy. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The overlapping web of personal and business relationships between major mutual fund directors and BlackRock raises red flags about potential conflicts of interest and further calls into question the misguided investment strategies in the name of ESG,” Virginia Attorney General Miyares said in a press release announcing the move last year , that Virginia would join a coalition of states demanding answers from BlackRock.
Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti said last year when he announced a lawsuit against BlackRock over ESG: “[s]Some public statements show a company that focuses exclusively on return on capital, others show a company that pays particular attention to environmental issues. Ultimately, I want to ensure that businesses, regardless of size, treat Tennessee consumers fairly and honestly.”
BlackRock said it rejects the lawsuit's claims.
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And last month, Texas blacklisted the company over its ESG policies, prompting Fink to address the state's lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, and other Republican officials at an energy investment summit in Houston.
According to the New York Post, BlackRock has assets of about $10 trillion, of which around $700 billion is attributable to ESG.
As ESG becomes more controversial, it has also affected other companies.
Bank of America appeared to be reneging on its 2021 promise not to finance new coal projects, saying in its year-end Environmental and Social Risk Policy Framework filed in December that new coal mines and facilities or oil drilling in the Arctic would now Such projects would have to expect “enhanced due diligence”.
Some states, such as New Hampshire, Texas and West Virginia, have passed laws to prevent banks from refusing to finance coal projects and have even tried to enforce so-called “environmental, social and governance principles” in companies, according to The New to criminalize York Times.
The conservative response to environmental issues in business has led other companies to withdraw from certain environmentally friendly initiatives.
Earlier this year, a coalition of 12 Republican state agriculture commissioners wrote a letter to six major U.S. banks, including Bank of America, detailing their net-zero ambitions, opening a new front in opposition to what is being called calling them “woke investing” The fight has been led primarily by state attorneys general and state finance officials.
All six banks are members of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA).
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Fox Business has reached out to BlackRock for comment.