JPMorgan Chase & Co. is leaving a key climate financing organistion, becoming the last of Wall Street’s largest banks to withdraw.
The largest bank in the United States has opted to exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), the company announced on Tuesday.
The company in an emailed statement said JPMorgan will “continue to work independently to advance the interests of our firm, our shareholders and our clients and remain focused on pragmatic solutions to help further low-carbon technologies while advancing energy security,” according to the emailed statement.
“We will also continue to support the banking and investment needs of our clients who are engaged in energy transition and in decarbonizing different sectors of the economy.”
JPMorgan’s exit marks the latest blow to NZBA. In December alone, the alliance parted ways with Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co.
So far in January, Morgan Stanley has said it’s quitting the group. Departures to date have been concentrated in the U.S., against a backdrop of intensified attacks by the Republican Party on what it’s sought to characterize as “woke” capitalism.
With JPMorgan’s departure, only three U.S. lenders — Amalgamated Bank, Areti Bank and Climate First Bank — remain as members of NZBA, compared with about 80 banks in Europe, according to the alliance’s website.
Banks that have left NZBA say they remain committed to helping clients transition to a low-carbon future.
The defections that have hit NZBA follow similar exits across climate alliances in other corners of the finance industry. In 2023, a sub group for insurers saw a mass exodus amid litigation threats. And in 2022, an equivalent group for asset managers parted ways with Vanguard Group Inc., the world’s second-largest money manager.
