Trump FTC Weighs In on ESG Suit Against BlackRock, Vanguard (1)

BlackRock Inc., State Street Corp. and Vanguard Group Inc. will have broken the law if they acted collectively to use their shareholdings in coal companies to lower output for ESG reasons, Trump administration antitrust officials said in a court filing.

The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department on Thursday filed a so-called statement of interest in an antitrust lawsuit brought last year by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Texas and 12 other Republican-led states are accusing the investment management giants of colluding to pressure coal producers to reduce production based on environmental, social and governance strategies. The ...