UK-based financial services group NatWest has been added to a list of financial companies published by the Texas Comptroller’s office that may be subject to divestment by the state’s pension funds for “boycotting” oil and gas companies.

The growing list forms part of an ongoing anti-ESG movement in Republican states, with Texas among the most active in recent years. Texas is the largest net energy supplier in the U.S., providing nearly a quarter of the country’s domestically produced energy, and accounting for over 40% of the nation’s crude oil proved reserves and production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The divestment list was first published by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar in 2022, initially targeting 10 financial companies, including BlackRock, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Danske Bank, Jupiter Fund Management, Nordea Bank, Schroders, Svenska Handelsbanken, Swedbank and UBS, in addition to hundreds of individual funds.

With the addition of NatWest, the list has now grown to 16 companies, and also includes AMP, HSBC, Credit Agricole, Impax Asset Management, Rathbones, and Societe Generale.

According to a FAQ published by the Comptroller’s office, the Comptroller is required under a Texas law to maintain and update a “list of financial companies that boy energy companies,” with the law giving companies given 90 days to “cease boycotting energy companies in order to avoid qualifying for divestment by state governmental entities.”

In an emailed statement provided by the Comptroller’s office to ESG Today, a spokesperson said that the decision to add NatWest to the list was made due to “changes to NatWest Group’s financing policy relative to the oil and gas industry.” The spokesperson specifically reference NatWest’s policy which states:

“From February 2023, we will not provide reserve-based lending specifically for the purpose of financing oil and gas exploration, extraction and production for new customers, and, after, the 31st December 2025, we will not renew, refinance or extend existing reserve based lending specifically for the purpose for financing oil and gas exploration, extraction and production.”

While Texas has become increasingly active in its anti-ESG advocacy, it has also faced pushback over the cost and estimated lost returns likely to result from anti-ESG initiatives. An 2023 assessment by the Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS), for example, analyzing a proposed law prohibiting ESG investing in the state’s public retirement investment system, estimated that the legislation could cost the retirement system more than $6 billion over ten years in lost returns, and keep the system from partnering with top investment managers.