- Texas AG’s office probing bank’s firearm policies, letter says
- Office will decide if bank is a ‘discriminating company’
Wells Fargo & Co.’s policies around the firearm industry are being probed by the Texas Attorney General’s office, a potential threat to the bank’s bond underwriting work in the state.
Leslie Brock, chief of the AG’s public finance division, sent a July 26 letter to lawyers who work on bond deals in Texas saying that officials are studying whether Wells Fargo has a practice or policy that “discriminates against a firearm entity or firearm trade association.”
The letter, obtained by Bloomberg News, is the latest salvo in the Lone Star State’s fight with Wall Street over its environmental, social and governance policies. The probe is tied to legislation passed in 2021 that restricts certain government contracts with companies that the state deems as hostile to the gun industry. The AG determined Citigroup Inc. “discriminates” earlier this year.
Bloomberg Markets
By Amanda Albright and Danielle Moran
July 27, 2023