The latest data from MSCI Inc. regarding the environmental social and governance criteria gave updates to America’s largest Financial companies like Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley. However, some are accusing rating agencies of ‘greenwashing’ the criteria because these same companies lent a combined $74 billion to fossil-fuel companies. This is the exact reason the SEC is looking to step into ESG ratings in one of their latest announcements. In fact, only 3 lenders in the S&P 500 received ESG rating downgrades. This is mostly because MSCI only considers the fraction of loans to polluters, not their total value.
FINSUM: Total existing outward loans might just be a way the SEC could come down on future ESG rating regulation if these stories gather more headlines.
