Bank of the West Says NO to Supporting Certain Types of Coal, Oil and Gas Exploration

Financial services company Bank of the West recently announced on their website that it will no longer do business with companies whose activities are involved in the exploration, production, distribution, marketing or trade of oil and gas that comes from shale and tar sands, and will also no longer finance coal-fired power plants and coal mines who are not actively involved in energy transition to other suitable energy sources.

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The following is a quote found on their website: “We’re investing where we feel we can make the most impact, like advancing diversity and women entrepreneurship programs, financing for more small businesses, promoting programs for sustainable energy, and withdrawing support from companies and business activities that are detrimental to our environment and our health.

As a long-term partner of the energy industry, we are proud to work with companies in oil, coal, and gas that are actively involved in the energy transition and committed to building a more sustainable energy future.”

The website goes on to state that the following decisions were made by Bank of the West:

• We will no longer do business with companies whose main activity is exploring, producing, distributing, marketing or trading oil and gas from shale and/or tar sands.
• We will never finance oil and gas exploration or production projects in the Arctic.
• We will no longer finance coal mines or coal-fired power plants that are not actively involved in the energy transition.
• We will terminate all financing and investing activities relating to tobacco product manufacturers, as well as producers, wholesalers, and traders whose revenue comes primarily from tobacco.

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Bank of the West is based out of San Fransisco, California and is a subsidiary of French Company, BNP Paribas and has more than 600 branches and offices in the Midwest and the Western United States. Locally Bank of the West has branches in Rawlins, Green River, Evanston, Kemmerer, Big Piney, and Pinedale.

Bank of the West’s Rock Springs branch closed down operations shortly after the new year.