The Bank of Montreal (BMO) dropped its policy of restrictive lending to the coal industry in late 2023, helping it avoid being labelled an energy “boycotter” in West Virginia, according to Bloomberg.
West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore recently released a boycott list of financial institutions and BMO was not included.
Moore said, four financial firms are targeting the coal industry Toronto-Dominion Bank, Citigroup Inc., Northern Trust Corp., and HSBC Holdings PLC, and they will not be allowed to provide state banking services.
BMO received a warning from Moore’s office in November and it removed anti-coal policy statements from its website.
