On October 31, 2023, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) announced that it would be forming a working group to develop a voluntary code of conduct for Hong Kong-based ESG ratings and data providers. ICMA will...more
12/14/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Code of Conduct ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) ,
Investment ,
IOSCO ,
Securities Regulation ,
Working Groups
On September 21, 2023, a Texas federal court dismissed an action commenced by more than two dozen Republican state attorneys general challenging a 2022 Department of Labor (DOL) Rule that addressed consideration of ESG...more
11/8/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Retirement Plan
Consumers’ Research, a nonprofit organization claiming to challenge “companies that have chosen to put woke politics above consumer interests,” announced in June 2023 that it was launching a publicity campaign against a...more
On December 9, 2022, S&P Dow Jones Indices (DJI) announced the results of its 2022 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) Annual Review.
The top five worldwide additions by market capitalization added this year are:...more
Earlier this month, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) urged legislators to reject key aspects of “anti-ESG” bills introduced in the Kansas Senate and House of Representatives. Both bills are designed, in...more
3/24/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Kansas ,
Pension Reform ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Public Pension ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan
On February 3, the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, announced the establishment of a nine-person Republican ESG Working Group to “combat the threat to our capital markets posed by those on the...more
On January 10, Isabel Schnabel, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), gave a speech at an international symposium on central bank independence on monetary policy tightening and the green...more
2/17/2023
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Lending ,
Paris Agreement
On December 16, the Amsterdam headquartered bank ABN AMRO announced the publication of a climate strategy and its decision to join the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). ABN AMRO stated that it is “committed to making a...more
1/4/2023
/ Banks ,
Business Strategies ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
Net Zero ,
Netherlands ,
Popular
On March 9, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets (the “Executive Order”) that sets in motion a “whole-of-government” strategy to address the impacts of the rise...more
3/16/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Contract ,
Investor Protection ,
Regulatory Agenda
Introduction -
The asset management industry has been sounding the alarm for some time about the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. While private equity giant, Carlyle, is the most recent financial institution...more