“The bank, which is ranked as the sixth biggest municipal-bond underwriter in 2021, is joining rivals Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in halting such business in Texas, at least temporarily, since the Republican-backed laws took effect Sept. 1, according to a state agency that had planned to have Goldman lead an upcoming sale. Bank of America Corp. also hasn’t handled any new Texas bond deals since the start of last month.”
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is said to be pulling back from public-finance business in Texas because of new state laws that seek to punish Wall Street banks for wading into the debates over gun control and global warming.
The bank, which is ranked as the sixth biggest municipal-bond underwriter in 2021, is joining rivals Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in halting such business in Texas, at least temporarily, since the Republican-backed laws took effect Sept. 1, according to a state agency that had planned to have Goldman lead an upcoming sale. Bank of America Corp. also hasn’t handled any new Texas bond deals since the start of last month.
One of the laws bars Texas state and local governments from working with banks that have moved to curtail ties to the firearms industry in the wake of U.S. mass shootings. Another restricts state contracts with those that have shunned fossil-fuel producers, a major industry in Texas.
