Florida Banking October 2022

STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

BANKS AND BANKERS SHOULD NOT BECOME

‘CLIMATE POLICE’ TO SATISFY OUTRAGEOUS ESG DEMANDS

BY ALEJANDRO “ALEX” SANCHEZ, FBA PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY FOX BUSINESS.

T he Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issue is one of the biggest issues the American banking system has faced in years. All of us are first inhabitants of this planet before anything else. As such, it is in our collective best interest to care deeply about the environment; we all want a beautiful, clean and safe place to enjoy now — and for generations to come. For instance,

My advice to the banking industry, and to individual banks: dance with neither party. Some bankers may be concerned that certain individuals at the bank, such as board members, investors or even employees, are encouraging alignment with one political party or political agenda. I would counter that argument by saying if you search hard enough, you will learn that the

our beautiful state of Florida is one of the most beautiful states in the country and we want to keep it that way. If government leaders want to adopt environmental laws and regulations, they should do so. If the government wants to ban or outlaw a particular industry or business, it should do so. As the law stands now, bankers are permitted to bank legal businesses, and only legal businesses. Bankers should not be placed in the role of the “climate police” by closing accounts or refusing bank products to industries that depend on fossil fuels. This is the bigger issue: banks should have the right to decide,

bank also has board members, investors, employees and other interested parties covering a wide spectrum of political p e r s ua s i on s and s p e c i a l interests.

“THIS IS THE BIGGER ISSUE: BANKS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE, BASED ON THE RISK OR BUSINESS PROFILE OF THE BANK, THE TYPE OF BUSINESS THEY WANT TO BANK.”

The old saying, “you can’t please all of the people all of the time,” rings true. Bankers should invest time and money in leaders from any political party who understand and support the banking industry instead of jumping on an issue bandwagon. The nation’s bank i ng sys t em needs a reasonable and not burdensome regulatory system so our banks can do what we do best: provide the capital that makes the economy go and help more and more people achieve the American dream of home and business ownership. Kudos to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, who was a guest on Maria Bartiromo’s “Mornings with Maria” show on Fox Business Network on Tuesday, August 2. When Maria asked Brian about ESG, rather than leaning to one political party or another,Moynihan answered that his bank has a $40 billion loan pipeline

based on the risk or business profile of the bank, the type of business they want to bank. What we do not want is for politicians, from the left or right, dictating to the nation’s banking industry who should be banked or not banked. That latter option becomes a stronger possibility if the banking industry dances with the progressive left or conservatives on the right just to make one political party happy.

6 — FLORIDA BANKING THE VOICE OF FLORIDA BANKING