CITIGROUP has cut about five analyst jobs inside a small team dedicated to producing ESG (environmental, social and governance) and climate research, according to sources familiar with the development.
The analysts, who worked within Citi’s Global Perspectives & Solutions unit, left the bank at the end of last week, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing information that Citigroup has not made public. Among the departures is Jason Channell, head of sustainable finance for Citi Global Insights, the sources said.
The analysts had published reports on topics such as climate, renewable energy, biodiversity and carbon markets. Citigroup, which still employs analysts in other departments that focus on ESG, did not charge clients for the research produced by the analysts whose jobs were cut. Other researchers that focused on separate topics were also let go.
Channell did not respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Citigroup said the bank is committed to supporting its clients “in their sustainability journeys” and to reaching the firm’s own net-zero and sustainable financing goals, while declining to comment on personnel matters.
Citigroup is still working on a January pledge to eliminate about 20,000 jobs globally, or about 8 per cent of its workforce. To date, the bank has eliminated roughly 11,000 positions.
At the same time, Wall Street is figuring out how to navigate a second term with Donald Trump as president and a newly emboldened Republican Party that’s already stepped up its attacks on ESG financial strategies.
Trump has promised to wind back green subsidies and to reduce the scope of environmental protections as part of a programme of sweeping deregulation. His Nov 5 election win has prompted ESG industry analysts to predict that a considerably more hostile political environment awaits. A day after the election, Jefferies Financial Group published a note warning “all ESG fund managers to have a lawyer on the team, or on speed-dial”.
Since then, the GOP has grown more litigious. Last month, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton led a move to sue BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street for allegedly breaching antitrust laws by using climate-friendly investment strategies to suppress the supply of coal. BLOOMBERG
