Big banks, climate activists and banking reform advocates don’t agree on much, but they have joined forces to denounce a proposed Trump administration rule that would make it harder for banks to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry . If adopted, the proposed regulation would mean that banks could no longer deny loans to fossil fuel companies, gunmakers or other industries simply because those companies don’t match lenders’ corporate values. Banks could only refuse to lend to companies with a “documented failure” of meeting previously established lending standards. Last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed the comment period on the controversial rule which was introduced in late 2020 by Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks. Now it’s drawing fierce opposition from some strange bedfellows. “Brian Brooks did something I never thought possible: He united the banking industry and reform advocates,” said Isaac Boltansky, […]

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