CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – State Treasurer Larry Pack today announced he has added Santander Bank to the West Virginia Treasury’s Restricted Financial Institution (RFI) List after determining the institution is engaged in boycotts of fossil fuel companies as defined by state law.
Santander Bank and all institutions on the list are ineligible to provide banking services to the State of West Virginia. The determination was based on a review of each institution’s own environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and other publicly available statements.
The RFI list was created from the passage of Senate Bill 262 in 2022. Treasurer Riley Moore proposed the legislation as part of his effort to fight back against the ESG investing movement. Since then, three states – Kentucky, Texas and Oklahoma – have followed suit. West Virginia was the first state to publish a list.
“With the election of President Donald Trump, we have seen financial institutions abandon language used by the ESG movement. As much as we applaud this effort, actions speak louder than words and many of these institutions carry out the same practices that puts the fossil fuel industry at a severe disadvantage,” Treasurer Pack said. “We will continue to talk to industry leaders who have been negatively affected by ESG policies to make sure these financial institutions focus on fiduciary responsibility in lieu of social wokeness.”
The Restricted Financial Institution List authorizes the State Treasurer to publish a list of financial institutions that have publicly stated they will refuse, terminate or limit doing business with coal, oil or natural gas companies without a reasonable business purpose.
Inclusion on the RFI List may disqualify institutions from the competitive bidding process, any other official selection process, and may render the institution ineligible to enter into, or remain in, banking contracts with the State of West Virginia. Under the law, the Treasurer is authorized to refuse to enter into a banking contract based on an institution’s restricted financial status.
Additionally, the Treasurer is authorized to require, as a term of any banking contract, an agreement by the financial institution not to engage in a boycott of energy companies for the duration of the contract.
Following a financial institution’s inclusion on the Restricted Financial Institution List, the Treasurer will remove the institution from the list if the institution demonstrates that it has ceased all activity that boycotts energy companies.
“For America to remain a world superpower, we must enhance, not hinder our ability to compete with countries such as China. While the Chinese Communist Party invests in an all-the-above energy policy, we have seen many of our largest financial institutions use their positions to advance social and political agendas that fall outside the scope of materiality and positive financial return. We must reverse course, and we must do it now. The fight is not over,” Treasurer Pack said.
More information on the Restricted Financial Institution List is available at wvtreasury.gov/Financial-Institutions/Restricted-Financial-Institutions-List. The list can be viewed here.
