Investigation Into Six Major Banks for Collusion-in-Lending

Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General

AUSTIN – The state of Texas has joined a multistate investigation into Bank of America Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, JPMorgan Chase & Co., The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and Citigroup Inc. for potential violations of consumer protection laws.

This is the third recent investigation by Attorney General Paxton into companies for alleged deceptive trade practices tied to Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) related actions.

“The radical climate change movement has been waging an all-out war against American energy for years, and the last thing Americans need right now are corporate activists helping the left bankrupt our fossil fuel industry,” said Attorney General Paxton. “If the largest banks in the world think they can get away with lying to consumers or taking any other illegal action designed to target a vital American industry like energy, they’re dead wrong. This investigation is just getting started, and we won’t stop until we get to the truth.”

The investigation will focus on the above-listed financial institutions joining the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. It is believed that the banks, with oversight by the United Nations, collectively agreed that each of their lending practices will reflect the target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with interim targets in 2030, based on the Paris Agreement. The effect of this accord would be to starve companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities of credit on national and international markets.

To read the CID for Bank of America, click here.

To read the CID for Citigroup Inc., click here.

To read the CID for JPMorgan Chase & Co., click here.

To read the CID for Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, click here.

To read the CID for The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., click here.

To read the CID for Wells Fargo & Company, click here.