(Reuters) – Kentucky on Tuesday warned 11 major financial firms, including Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and BlackRock Inc, of potential divestment over their “boycott” of energy firms.
State government entities must notify the Treasurer of direct or indirect holdings in the businesses within the list. They need to also write to the firms, asking them to stop the “boycott” failing which, they might be subject to divestment, Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball said.
Republicans have been ramping up pressure on the finance industry over what they are saying are their increasingly aggressive environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.
Previously yr, other states like West Virginia and Texas have also boycotted several financial firms.
Spokespersons for BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup didn’t reply to Reuters requests for comment.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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