UK-based financial services group NatWest has been added to a Texas Comptroller’s list of financial companies that may face divestment by the state’s pension funds for allegedly “boycotting” oil and gas firms. This move is part of a broader anti-ESG push in Republican-led states like Texas, which is a major energy producer in the U.S.
Texas is the largest net energy supplier in the U.S., providing nearly a quarter of the country’s domestically produced energy, and accounting for over 40% of the nation’s crude oil proved reserves and production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The list, first published in 2022, initially included ten financial companies and has since grown to 16, now featuring firms like HSBC and Societe Generale.
The divestment list was first published by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar in 2022, initially targeting 10 financial companies, including BlackRock, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Danske Bank, Jupiter Fund Management, Nordea Bank, Schroders, Svenska Handelsbanken, Swedbank and UBS, in addition to hundreds of individual funds.
With the addition of NatWest, the list has now grown to 16 companies, and also includes AMP, HSBC, Credit Agricole, Impax Asset Management, Rathbones, and Societe Generale.
The Comptroller’s office spokesperson specifically reference NatWest’s policy which states:
From February 2023, we will not provide reserve-based lending specifically for the purpose of financing oil and gas exploration, extraction and production for new customers, and, after, the 31st December 2025, we will not renew, refinance or extend existing reserve based lending specifically for the purpose for financing oil and gas exploration, extraction and production.
Texas requires listed companies to cease “boycotting” energy firms within 90 days to avoid divestment. NatWest’s addition follows its updated financing policy restricting loans for oil and gas exploration from 2023 onward. However, Texas has faced criticism over the potential financial costs of its anti-ESG stance, with a 2023 report estimating that such policies could lead to over $6 billion in lost returns for the state’s public retirement system.
