Climate change

JPMorgan Chase hired Ben Ratner from the Environmental Defense Fund to help advise banking clients on lowering their carbon footprint to combat climate change.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused the financial services industry of being a major contributor to climate change and urged U.S. regulators to hold it to account.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released draft “supervisory principles” for banks with more than $100 billion of assets, saying they should account for weather-related risks. Officials said public feedback on the guidelines will help inform more detailed interagency policy next year.

HSBC Holdings is planning to phase out the financing of coal used for generating electricity by 2040, the latest bank to commit to ending support for the greenhouse gas-intensive fossil fuel.

CEO Jane Fraser said the bank isn’t a fan of the idea of simply asking clients to dispose of any so-called brown assets, which would just shift the problem to a new owner.

Two progressive Democratic senators said they oppose the renomination of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to a second term, joining Elizabeth Warren in urging President Biden to choose someone else.

The OCC is expected by year-end to issue high-level guidance for banks on assessing how they contribute to climate change and how it impacts them. The agency and other regulators may next consider further actions, such as giving Community Reinvestment Act credit for financing environment-friendly projects and even more rigorous stress tests, analysts say.

Directors can urge executives to move more quickly in gauging their institutions’ vulnerability to extreme weather events, said acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu. He offered a list of five questions every board member should ask senior leaders about their progress.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell defended the central bank’s work to examine the effects of a warming planet on the financial system, but said decisions such as whether banks should lend to fossil fuel companies are best left to “elected representatives.”