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A few West Virginians will cheer West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore's latest announcement that his office has added even more financial institutions to his list of those ineligible for state banking contracts. But there is more to consider than just a little backward-looking political theater.
Citigroup, TD Bank, the Northern Trust Company and HSBC Holdings now join BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase and Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo and Co. on the list of those that have, as Moore's office puts it, boycotted fossil fuels companies. So, Moore thinks the state should boycott them.
"We cannot allow institutions that seek to destroy our state's critical energy industries and the economic activity they generate to also profit from handling the very taxpayer dollars they seek to diminish," Moore said. "My action today represents our continued commitment to protect state funds from furthering these politically motivated, subjective (environmental, social and governance) policies that attempt to cut off financing for our coal, oil and natural gas industries and harm our state."
And yes, Moore is running to represent West Virginia's 2nd district in Congress. That primary vote is in a little more than a month. The last time Moore added any banks to the list was July 2022.
Despite what some politicians hope West Virginians will believe, our relationship with the fossil fuel industry does not define us. We are more than our past, and capable of moving into an even brighter future. If we are to expand and diversify our economy, our public officials had better start acting as though they understand that. (And acting as though they care more about the wellbeing of all Mountain State residents than about staying in good standing with fossil fuel lobbyists).
Meanwhile, Reuters reports a Northern Trust representative said the company "does not restrict or prohibit investment in fossil fuel-based energy companies," and in fact has around $52 billion in investment exposure to companies in the traditional energy sector as of February 2024.
HSBC told Reuters it seeks "to work with -- not boycott -- energy companies."
And of course, Moore must bear in mind financial institutions face much greater pressure to be part of a responsible energy transition than to maintain a century-old status quo. How much further does he plan to limit our state's ability to work with major financial institutions for the sake of scoring a few political points?
Should Moore go on to represent the interests of West Virginians in Washington, D.C., he's going to have to expand his thinking on these things. Limiting the state's ability to expand its possibilities out of Charleston is bad enough. Sticking to that same strategy in D.C. would be indefensible.