Climate change

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu previewed but provided little detail about the “high-level … supervisory expectations” for large institutions. His statement was one of several by regulators to coincide with an international climate change summit.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council's guidelines for regulators avoided measures that banks feared such as fossil fuel loan limits and rigid new stress tests. But the panel is recommending rules that would require financial institutions to disclose their exposure to global warming.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council issued a much-anticipated report with tentative recommendations on how regulatory agencies should begin preparing to contain the risk.

From factoring global warming into the underwriting of government-backed loans to conducting "sensitivity analysis" of banks' ability to withstand severe weather, several government agencies are accelerating efforts to address the impact of climate change on the financial system.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the Wall Street firm wouldn’t abruptly stop working with fossil fuel companies, stressing the need for a balanced transition to green energy that avoids higher energy prices.

JPMorgan Chase signed a pledge to align its lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050, joining more than 40 rival financial firms in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.

The European Central Bank will look at the trading operations of major lenders as part of climate stress tests next year, after judging that an assessment of loan books alone won’t give enough insight into the fallout they face from global warming.

The European Central Bank is stepping up pressure on lenders to prepare for stress tests next year that will show just how vulnerable the industry is to climate change, according to people familiar with the process.

Climate activists broke windows at JPMorgan Chase offices in central London Wednesday as part of two weeks of protests against organizations that support fossil fuels. 

Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell said she will step down Aug. 24, the same day Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to leave following a sexual harassment investigation. The state’s attorney general found that Lacewell helped with the governor’s public relations response to the allegations.