Seattle takes steps to divest $3 billion from Wells Fargo over Standing Rock

[Sara S]

Seattle Takes Steps to Divest $3 Billion From Wells Fargo Over Standing Rock
by Ari Paul Dec 15, 2016

Over the past few months activists opposed to the Dakota Access pipeline have ramped up pressure on the pipeline company’s financiers, and now the city of Seattle is showing what kind of weight a large municipality can add as it looks at taking $3 billion in city business away from Wells Fargo.

The city of Seattle is
showing what kind of weight a
large municipality can add.

Wells Fargo is one of 38 banks offering financial support to the pipeline and its parent companies, according to research by Food & Water Watch, but it’s one of only 17 banks that have directly financed the pipeline construction by Dakota Access LLC. And one of only seven banks financing all of them with significant lines of credit offered to parent companies Energy Transfer Partners, Energy Transfer Equity, and Sunoco Logistics.

Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant introduced legislation that would end the city’s contract with Wells Fargo, which handles $3 billion worth of city government business, including employee payroll. It was unanimously approved to go to a full vote in January. Wells Fargo’s contract with the city has another year to go, meaning no big changes right away, but the legislation could have broader implications as it proposes rules to ensure that the city does business with socially responsible businesses. In remarks introducing the bill December 12, Sawant said the city “can make a strong commitment to environmental, economic, and racial justice” by moving its business to an institution with a reliable social justice record.

“What we’re trying to accomplish is to establish a guide for the city of Seattle, a guide for socially responsible banking practices,” said Seattle activist and Standing Rock Sioux tribe member Matt Remle, a major backer of the proposal.

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