L&G’s fund arm to back climate votes at U.S., Canadian banks

By Simon Jessop

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), Britain’s largest asset manager and subsidiary of Legal & General, a renowned insurer, has announced its intention to support environmental shareholder proposals at annual meetings of Canadian and American banks. LGIM, which manages assets valued at over $1.5tn, has strengthened its stance on climate change, and cited its belief that banks have a critical role to play in adhering to the global goals set by the Paris Agreement.

The fund management firm is escalating its activism following its support of climate votes last year. In a statement, LGIM said, “We continue to consider that decarbonisation of the banking sector and its clients is key to ensuring that the goals of the Paris Agreement are met. Accordingly, we believe our support of many of these resolutions – depending always on the specifics of their drafting language and advisory or binding nature – is warranted.”

The proposals that LGIM will support include time-bound policies related to reducing lending and underwriting for fossil fuel exploration and development at six American banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. It will also support proposals asking for emissions reduction targets for high-emitting sectors and for environment-related reports to be submitted to leading banks, including the Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Toronto-Dominion Bank.

“We believe detailed information on how a company intends to achieve the 2030 targets they have set… can further focus the board’s attention on the steps and timeframe involved and provides assurance to stakeholders,” LGIM said in a statement.

($1 = 0.7993 pounds)

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Mark Potter)

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