Red-State AGs Call Out Credit-Rating Companies Over ESG
Austin Knudsen, Montana’s attorney general, from left, Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma’s attorney general, and Andrew Bailey, Missouri’s then-attorney general, during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on Jan. 10, 2024.
Photographer: Graeme Sloan/BloombergA group of state attorneys general wrote to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and major credit-rating firms, raising concerns about the use of environmental, social and governance factors in downgrade decisions.
The officials from 23 Republican-led states, which include Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, said Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Corp. and S&P Global Ratings have “undisclosed material conflicts of interest,” in part because they have pledged to a United Nations-backed organization to incorporate ESG into their analysis.