Bank Climate Guidance Faces ‘Deep Distrust’ From Small Lenders

Federal regulators will have a hard time assuring banks that recent climate guidance applies only to the largest financial institutions, in part due to a long history of distrust between the industry and its Washington supervisors.

The Oct. 24 guidance from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seeks to get banks with at least $100 billion in assets to better manage the material risks posed by climate change. That includes both physical risk to bank branches as well as transition risks as the economy moves away from fossil fuel ...