This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Given the current status of the midterm election, it appears likely, but not certain, that Republicans will control the House. If so, this means Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., currently ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, will  become chairman. Overall, this change will be negative for the country. Regulatory agencies most at risk include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), given Sen. Elizabeth Warren's role in creating the agency and in light of the fact that an appeals court ruled the CFPB’s funding mechanism  unconstitutional: "A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the design of the CFPB violated the Constitution because it receives funding through the Federal Reserve, rather than appropriations legislation passed by Congress." As a matter of turf, McHenry is likely to support bringing the agency under congressional funding procedures, as broken as these are. We also expect the Securities and Exchange...

After causing the 2008 (and, arguably the 2020) financial crises, moderate- and low-income citizens bailed out large financial institutions. They did so again in 2019 and 2020.  When all individual transactions are summed across all Federal Reserve credit facilities, a total of $29 trillion dollars was spent, including $16.41 trillion to 14 larger financial institutions. This includes bailing out Goldman Sachs, a firm with a record of unethical behavior: https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_698.pdf    Now, THIS was truly unfair. Forgiving a small portion of student loans is not. As to the claim that somehow bailing out banks (and companies via PPP loans) is required, this is false. In 2008 and 2020, “gains..were captured disproportionately by the recipient banks” and their management in the form of bonus compensation.  95% of the benefit went to people making over $250,000 a year. They “ended up getting a subsidy to the tune of” trillions of dollars.  Likewis...