HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today he is closing his investigation into Wells Fargo’s potentially deceptive trade practices tied to Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) policies, following the bank’s announcement it is abandoning its anti-energy goal to achieve net-zero by 2050.

In October 2022, Attorney General Knudsen and 18 other state attorneys general launched an investigation into Wells Fargo and five other major banks – Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley. To starve companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities of credit on national and international markets, the banks collectively agreed that each of their lending practices would reflect the United Nations’ Net-Zero Banking Alliance’s (NZBA) target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with interim targets in 2030, based on the Paris Agreement, which may be illegal under Montana’s Consumer Protection Act.

“Wells Fargo’s decision to abandon its anti-energy goals is a good indicator we’re turning the tide in the left’s war on American energy. But as Attorney General, I won’t let up on my commitment to hold corporations and financial institutions accountable that illegally put the political agendas of their allies ahead of what’s best for their customers and shareholders,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “Wells Fargo made the right decision, and I hope every other major bank follows suit.”

All six banks left the NZBA in 2024. However, Wells Fargo is the first to announce it would be “discontinuing our sector-specific 2030 interim financed emissions targets and our goal to achieve net zero by 2050 for financed emissions.” The investigation will continue into the five other banks.