Texas to drop reviews after banks quit climate group

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lauded recent moves by Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan to withdraw from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and announced he will close related reviews of the banks launched in 2023 that might have led to bans on underwriting municipal bonds in the state. In a statement Tuesday, Paxton said the banks' membership in the Net-Zero alliance, which seeks a transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, could have classified them as energy boycotters under a 2021 Texas law.

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The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to consider revamping disclosure rule guidelines and says the commission underestimates the burden the rule puts on underwriters. SIFMA outlined its concerns over SEC Rule 15c2-12 on Monday. The Jan. 7 letter is in response to the SEC's November request for comments on the existing collection of information provided for in 15c2-12.

From politics to disclosure to funding, the changing climate challenges muni issuers. Learn more in our Climate Spotlight 2024 package.

Municipals sold off Wednesday, with the largest losses out long, while U.S. Treasuries closed with small gains and equities were mixed after Fed meeting minutes showed a more cautious approach and slower pace to rate cuts. Muni yields were cut up to 12 basis points, playing catch-up to recent UST losses.

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Appeals court judges sharply questioned both sides at a hearing to determine whether the United States government should be held responsible for losses by bondholders of the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Corp., better known as COFINA. If the three U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit judges side with the bondholders, the ruling could be applied to other Puerto Rico bond types restructured in the last few years.

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Multiple carbon capture and storage projects are advancing across the Midwest, but the Trump administration may change the calculus around CCS and net zero goals.

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