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Bank of America CEO says new ESG rules are needed to reboot capitalism at WEF

26 points by IronWolve 4y ago

GenerocUsername 4y ago
Nothing nefarious there. Just good old top-down controls by the richest humans in the world. Nothing wrong with that. Surely these changes will be good for the hard working folks who put in their hours.
- landemva 4y ago
  And if the BoA top salary folks make big mistakes, taxpayers will backstop their salaries. $20 billion in 2009 for failing. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-banks/bank-of-america-gets-big-government-bailout-idUSTRE50F1Q720090116 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-banks/bank-of-america-get... I wonder the carbon footprint to get the BoA jets over to Switzerland.
LatteLazy 4y ago
The same as was true 40 years ago. Now we just need some action.
vorpalhex 4y ago
ESG is a "good in theory, horrible in practice" sort of thing. In theory, we want to make it easier to invest in businesses that are sustainably aligned. This is great! We all like our planet, we want our planet to be good and to aide those people who align with that goal while also building good products. In practice, ESG is a bunch of removed bureaucrats casting laws that result in prohibiting the free movement of people (https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport/connecting-oxfordshire/traffic-filters https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport...) or removing the farms (and income) of farmers (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62335287 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62335287).
- matthewmacleod 4y ago
  It’s an unreasonable stretch—to the extent of dishonesty—to describe the implementation of “streets where private cars are not allowed” as “prohibiting the free movement of people”. It also has exactly nothing to do with corporate ESG, the subject of this article.
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    The filter gates are part of an environmental effort tied into the WEF's ESG concept, the same ESG concept BoA is responding to. These are not trivial little sidestreets that are being closed to cars. These are major routes and thoroughfares. Nor is this a tax or fine (encouraging the use of buses), this is a hard limit with license plate scanning as enforcement. People use their cars to be able to go places and do things. Restricting, meaningfully, the movement of cars is a restriction on freedom of movement. Trains and buses are great and we should encourage people to use them but we don't do that by locking people in with gates.
speed_spread 4y ago
Reboot. I don't think he knows what it means. Is the problem with Capitalism an Instance issue, or is it baked into the Class (heehee) ?
sandstrom 4y ago
Instead of ESG, countries should enact laws that steer companies in the direction that those societies want to steer them in. ESG is this weird layer on top, where companies are "forced" to adhere to principles somewhat weirdly drawn up, by e.g. fund managers, and then enforced by PWC, Deloitte and friends. As an example, the office we rent, they have some type of ESG bonds to fund them, so that real estate company asks us to sign a contract about office recycling and using wind for electricity. These are tickbox items that their ESG-auditor require. But there is no enforcement. Also, I cannot argue with them (for example that nuclear is a better option for electricity generation). At least with laws, I can vote for another government. With ESG, as an individual I have no influence whatsoever.
- ok_dad 4y ago
  > At least with laws, I can vote for another government. With ESG, as an individual I have no influence whatsoever. Now you see the purpose of ESG being controlled by the finance industry. They want to control the rules.
elzbardico 4y ago
A lot of the problems Davos wants to solve could have been already saved if those CEOs made their companies pay their taxes.
boppo1 4y ago
ESG isn't capitalism.
mansion7 4y ago
They should get right on that, right after they solve the mystery of how they lost millions of Zelle transactions.
akomtu 4y ago
WEF is a forum where bankers are cos-playing governors. They want to run the country to their liking, but pesky american laws (constitution, election, freedoms and all that) stand in their way.

26 points by IronWolve 4y ago

Nothing nefarious there. Just good old top-down controls by the richest humans in the world. Nothing wrong with that. Surely these changes will be good for the hard working folks who put in their hours.

landemva 4y ago
And if the BoA top salary folks make big mistakes, taxpayers will backstop their salaries. $20 billion in 2009 for failing. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-banks/bank-of-america-gets-big-government-bailout-idUSTRE50F1Q720090116 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-banks/bank-of-america-get... I wonder the carbon footprint to get the BoA jets over to Switzerland.

LatteLazy 4y ago

The same as was true 40 years ago. Now we just need some action.

vorpalhex 4y ago

ESG is a "good in theory, horrible in practice" sort of thing. In theory, we want to make it easier to invest in businesses that are sustainably aligned. This is great! We all like our planet, we want our planet to be good and to aide those people who align with that goal while also building good products. In practice, ESG is a bunch of removed bureaucrats casting laws that result in prohibiting the free movement of people (https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport/connecting-oxfordshire/traffic-filters https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport...) or removing the farms (and income) of farmers (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62335287 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62335287).

matthewmacleod 4y ago
It’s an unreasonable stretch—to the extent of dishonesty—to describe the implementation of “streets where private cars are not allowed” as “prohibiting the free movement of people”. It also has exactly nothing to do with corporate ESG, the subject of this article.
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  The filter gates are part of an environmental effort tied into the WEF's ESG concept, the same ESG concept BoA is responding to. These are not trivial little sidestreets that are being closed to cars. These are major routes and thoroughfares. Nor is this a tax or fine (encouraging the use of buses), this is a hard limit with license plate scanning as enforcement. People use their cars to be able to go places and do things. Restricting, meaningfully, the movement of cars is a restriction on freedom of movement. Trains and buses are great and we should encourage people to use them but we don't do that by locking people in with gates.

speed_spread 4y ago

Reboot. I don't think he knows what it means. Is the problem with Capitalism an Instance issue, or is it baked into the Class (heehee) ?

sandstrom 4y ago

Instead of ESG, countries should enact laws that steer companies in the direction that those societies want to steer them in. ESG is this weird layer on top, where companies are "forced" to adhere to principles somewhat weirdly drawn up, by e.g. fund managers, and then enforced by PWC, Deloitte and friends. As an example, the office we rent, they have some type of ESG bonds to fund them, so that real estate company asks us to sign a contract about office recycling and using wind for electricity. These are tickbox items that their ESG-auditor require. But there is no enforcement. Also, I cannot argue with them (for example that nuclear is a better option for electricity generation). At least with laws, I can vote for another government. With ESG, as an individual I have no influence whatsoever.

ok_dad 4y ago
> At least with laws, I can vote for another government. With ESG, as an individual I have no influence whatsoever. Now you see the purpose of ESG being controlled by the finance industry. They want to control the rules.

elzbardico 4y ago

A lot of the problems Davos wants to solve could have been already saved if those CEOs made their companies pay their taxes.

boppo1 4y ago

ESG isn't capitalism.

mansion7 4y ago

They should get right on that, right after they solve the mystery of how they lost millions of Zelle transactions.

akomtu 4y ago

WEF is a forum where bankers are cos-playing governors. They want to run the country to their liking, but pesky american laws (constitution, election, freedoms and all that) stand in their way.