BlackRock Inc.

[Belligerent Savant]

.

An attempt at a counterstrike:

https://www.pionline.com/esg/texas-blac ... y-boycotts

ESG

August 24, 2022 12:32 PM UPDATED 24 MINUTES AGO

Texas blacklists BlackRock, 9 other companies, claiming energy boycotts


Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Wednesday included BlackRock on a list of 10 financial companies he has determined "boycott energy companies," said a news release on his website.

Mr. Hegar is charged with implementing a 2021 state law that restricts the state's pension funds and other state entities from investing in companies that divest from fossil fuels. The other financial companies are BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse Group, Danske Bank, Jupiter Fund Management, Nordea Bank, Schroders, Svenska Handelsbanken, Swedbank and UBS Group.

Among the public pension funds that are affected by the law are the $199.9 billion Texas Teacher Retirement System; $44 billion Texas County & District Retirement System; and $39.6 billion Texas Employees Retirement System. All three funds are based in Austin.

The state law, which took effect Sept. 1, 2021, mandates that state entities begin the process of divesting from companies on Mr. Hegar's list. The law provides state entities up to 60 days to share their holdings in the affected companies and funds with the comptroller's office, and gives companies on the list up to 90 days to engage with the state and its retirement systems and "cease" boycotting energy companies.

The law also says a state governmental entity may delay the schedule for divestment if the entity determines that to divest from the company would not be consistent with their fiduciary duties, "that divestment from listed financial companies will likely result in a loss in value or a benchmark deviation."

The law also exempts entities from divesting from any "indirect holdings in actively or passively managed investment funds or private equity funds."

BlackRock said in an emailed statement: "We disagree with the comptroller's opinion. This is not a fact-based judgment. BlackRock does not boycott fossil fuels — investing over $100 billion in Texas energy companies on behalf of our clients proves that. Elected and appointed public officials have a duty to act in the best interests of the people they serve. Politicizing state pension funds, restricting access to investments, and impacting the financial returns of retirees, is not consistent with that duty. Texans deserve access to the full range of asset managers, and investment opportunities, that can help them meet their retirement goals. We are proud to play our part."

Mr. Hegar has also released a list of 350 publicly listed investment funds he has also determined "boycott energy companies." The list includes funds managed by BlackRock, Brown Advisory, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Fidelity Investments, Invesco, Janus Henderson Group, Mellon Investments, Neuberger Berman Group, Nuveen, PGIM Investments, Pacific Investment Management Co., State Street Global Advisors and Vanguard Group, among others.

Many are listed as ESG, impact, sustainable or responsible investing funds.

The law defines the "boycotting" of energy companies as a financial company or fund "refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any action that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations with a company because the company engages in the exploration, production, utilization, transportation, sale, or manufacturing of fossil fuel-based energy and does not commit or pledge to meet environmental standards beyond federal and state law" or does business with a company the comptroller deems guilty of those actions.

Mr. Hegar included a link to the list of 10 financial companies and 350 individual investment funds on his website.

[DrEvil]

I'm sure this has nothing to do with Texas being the largest producer of crude oil and natural gas in the US. Nothing pisses off politicians more than a threat to their bottom line.

[Belligerent Savant]

.

Of course. But it doesn't take away from the malevolence of Blackrock.

Frauds and Crooks abound when money's to be made.

[Harvey]

This article appears to cast poor little Blackrock as some kind of climate hero, thwarted by the nasty unreasoning Texan oil man. Puppet theatre.

[DrEvil]

It's annoying is what it is. Who am I supposed to root for? This is like watching the new Resident Evil show - I just want everyone to die. The puppeteer needs a better script.

[Belligerent Savant]

.

Nothing to see here -- move along.

https://www.ft.com/content/3d6041fb-574 ... 1742aa52a2

BlackRock and JPMorgan help set up Ukraine reconstruction bank

JUNE 19 2023

Fund aims to attract billions of dollars in private investment to assist rebuilding projects in war-torn country

BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase are helping the Ukrainian government set up a reconstruction bank to steer public seed capital into rebuilding projects that can attract hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment.

The Ukraine Development Fund remains in the planning stages and is not expected to fully launch until the end of hostilities with Russia. But investors will have a preview this week at a London conference co-hosted by the British and Ukrainian governments.

“So many of today’s long-term challenges are best addressed through blended finance and this is one. You need these vehicles to mobilise capital at scale,” said BlackRock vice-chair Philipp Hildebrand, who will be discussing the work on Wednesday.

The World Bank estimated in March that Ukraine would need $411bn to rebuild after the war, and recent Russian attacks have driven that figure higher.

The Kyiv government engaged BlackRock’s consulting arm in November to determine how best to attract that kind of capital, and then added JPMorgan in February. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced last month that the country was working with the two financial groups and consultants at McKinsey.

No formal fundraising target has been set but people familiar with the discussions say the fund is seeking to raise low-cost capital from governments, donors and international financial institutions and leverage it to attract between five and 10 times as much private investment.

BlackRock and JPMorgan are donating their services, although the work will give them an early look at possible investments in the country. The assignment also deepens JPMorgan’s relationship with a longstanding client. The bank has helped Ukraine raise more than $25bn in sovereign debt since 2010 and led the country’s $20bn debt restructuring last year.

The financiers consulted with private and public sector investors and found they wanted to help Ukraine but were leery not just about war losses but also the country’s governance, lack of transparency and shallow capital markets.

What Ukraine needed, BlackRock advised, was a development finance bank to find investment opportunities in sectors such as infrastructure, climate and agriculture and make them attractive to pension funds and other long-term investors and lenders. JPMorgan was brought in partly for its debt expertise.

“The fund is being set up to also give public and private sector investors the opportunity to invest into specific projects and sectors,” said Stefan Weiler, JPMorgan’s head of debt capital markets for central Europe, Middle East and Africa. “There will be different sectoral funds that the fund identified as priorities for Ukraine. The aim is maximise capital participation.”

The structure calls for the fund to use the lower-cost public money, known as concessional capital, to make initial investments and absorb the first losses.

“The notion is that this initial seed capital would be a de-risking mechanism, and it would create the potential for private sector capital to come in at scale,” said Brandon Hall, co-head of BlackRock’s Financial Markets Advisory arm. “Ukraine will have its own organisation to source and syndicate these local investment opportunities.”

To overcome investor concerns about governance, the fund is expected to stock its board with representatives of international financial institutions and governments and hire investment professionals to execute its strategy.

“Our view is that if you have a strong governance structure and an internationally credible set of stakeholders who are in the leadership position in this fund, then that will go a long way,” Hall said.

BlackRock’s advice has drawn on its work for the Saudi National Development Fund and the Climate Finance Partnership, a blended finance vehicle that directs investment into sustainability projects in emerging markets. McKinsey did not respond to a request for comment.

At present, the Ukraine work is focused on setting up the structure, governance and practical procedures because most investors want to wait for the end of hostilities. “The important part is that Ukraine is already thinking ahead,” Weiler said. “When the war is over, they’re going to want to be ready and start the rebuilding process immediately.”


Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2023. All rights reserved.

[Grizzly]

^^^
Damn, no way to by pass the subscription thingy...https://12ft.io/ didn't work.

[drstrangelove]

Feb 1988


March 1988

[Grizzly]

https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1680280304190361600/vid/962x720/R2baUCYSw15u_snM.mp4?tag=14