Proactive Investors - Barclays (LON:BARC) is facing being barred from taking part in municipal bonds issued in Texas after being classified as a ‘fossil fuel boycotter’ by the US state.
Ken Paxton, the state’s Attorney General, said the UK lender had not responded to questions about its pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The US oil state has already struck other banks off its lending list due to concern about their ESG stances.
According to Reuters, Barclays has been identified by the Attorney General as part of the Net Zero Alliance, a group established after COP 26 to bring down carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
"This raised concerns that Barclays' activities may require it be classified as a 'fossil fuel boycotter' under Texas law," said a statement from ther Attorney General's office.
"When asked for more information concerning its ESG commitments, Barclays elected not to respond to the questions and acknowledged that by doing so it would likely forfeit its ability to contract with Texas governmental entities," the statement continued.
Texas has a list of financial firms deemed hostile to oil companies, though ironically in Europe Barclays is routinely slammed for being too cosy with the oil, gas and coal sectors.
Several Christian groups and charities have withdrawn mandates from the bank for this reason, while the bank has regularly been targeted by activists such as Extinction Rebellion for its loans to fossil fuel producers and users.
Barclays also topped a poll for the amount it lends to oil and gas groups in 2022 alongside HSBC (LON:HSBA).