Texas Politics 365: Banking

Sunday, February 12, 2023

CitiGroup Barred From Bond Transaction Due To "Woke" Policy

[#TexasPolitics365]

Citigroup Inc. has been dropped from the group of banks poised to handle the biggest-ever municipal-bond transaction from Texas after the state’s attorney general’s office determined the firm discriminates against the firearms industry, barring it from underwriting most government borrowings in the state, due to its dedication to Woke ESG policies.

The Texas Natural Gas Securitization Finance Corp. board met Thursday and took action to “reconstitute” the syndicate on the $3.4 billion deal, according to Lee Deviney, executive director of the Texas Public Finance Authority, the state agency overseeing the borrowing. Citigroup had been listed in the original iteration of the underwriting firms approved by the board in May and is no longer included in the final group.

(Full story HERE.)
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Monday, June 14, 2021

State Regulator Says Banks Can Hold Cryptocurrency For Customers

[#TexasPolitics365]

State-chartered banks in Texas have been given the green light to custody crypto assets on behalf of their customers, a state regulator has announced.

The guidance is not representative of new law, but an affirmation that state-chartered banks are allowed to provide crypto custody services as long as there are adequate protocols in place and the banks are complying with existing legal frameworks, according to a June 10 notice posted on the Texas Department of Banking’s website.

(Full story here.)
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