Gabby Kientzle, gabby.kientzle@sierraclub.org
NEW YORK — Today, two major U.S. banks, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, held their annual general meetings (AGMs), where shareholders voted on investor proposals calling for greater transparency on human rights policies and climate-related political lobbying. This shareholder season builds on years of growing pressure from investors demanding improved transparency from big banks on their climate strategies, along with their policies surrounding environmental justice, human rights, and Indigenous sovereignty.
This is the third year the resolution calling for a report on the efficacy of Indigenous Rights policies has been filed at Citi. The resolution garnered support from more than a quarter of the bank’s shareholders. This year, Citi hastily published a report on Indigenous Rights weeks before the AGM, seemingly in an attempt to diminish shareholder support for the resolution. The report has drawn criticism from Indigenous leaders and investors, and appears to have been published without prior consultation.
The resolutions at Citigroup and Wells Fargo included:
- Report on Indigenous Peoples Policy - Resolution requesting a report on the effectiveness of policies for respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in regards to financing decisions:
- Citigroup preliminary voting result: 26% support
- Wells Fargo preliminary voting result: not reported
- Climate Lobbying Alignment - Resolution requesting a report on the alignment of the bank’s lobbying activities with its climate goals:
- Wells Fargo preliminary voting result: not reported
Wells Fargo notably declined to read out preliminary results for shareholder proposals at this year’s AGM — only noting that all resolutions received below majority support — breaking with the norm set by its peers in the industry.
In response to the shareholder votes, Ben Cushing, Director for the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign, issued the following statement:
“As this shareholder season unfolds, investors are clearly demanding more transparency from banks on climate and human rights, and a departure from the obfuscation and obstruction of years past. Despite Citi’s efforts to diminish support for the Indigenous Rights resolution, investors once again sent a strong message for the bank to do a more robust assessment of its policies and practices. It’s past time for Citi, Wells Fargo, and other big banks to heed the calls of investors and finally address the impacts of their financing activities on Indigenous communities, and commit to end financing for projects and companies violating their rights.”
BACKGROUND:
In the lead up to this AGM season, Citigroup agreed to disclose its relative levels of financing for low-carbon energy versus fossil fuels — also known as an energy supply financing ratio — in response to a shareholder resolution filed by the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and three New York City pension systems.
Similarly, Citigroup reached an agreement with As You Sow to report on the progress of its clients’ transition plans in response to a shareholder proposal filed this year. The bank published these preliminary results in its latest annual climate disclosures report in March, which revealed that only 8% of Citi’s clients in the upstream and downstream energy sector are deemed by the bank as having “Strong” transition plans.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.