After a decade of urging by environmentalists, many banks now have social responsibility policies for lending, including US Bank. It just modified its policy to put a prominent industry in northeast Ohio on the restricted list.
The bank amended its policy last month to state it "does not provide project financing for the construction of oil or natural gas pipelines. Relationships with clients in the oil and gas pipeline industries are subject to the Bank's enhanced due diligence."
Toby Mack of the Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance says the change is too inclusive -- and wrong when it goes after all business that do some of their work for pipelines.
“You’re targeting a class of enterprise, and workers -- don’t forget the workers -- that literally build all of the physical plant of our country.”
He says scores of small local contractors will be adversely affected. US Bank issued a one sentence comment restating that it updates its policy regularly.
