06:29 AM EDT, 04/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Two Canadian banks are in the crosshairs of an anti-ESG U.S. state treasurer, who has boycotted one for a purported stand against fossil fuels and given another a pass for loosening a policy on coal lending, according to a report in The Globe and Mail newspaper.

It noted West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore on Monday placed Toronto-Dominion Bank ( MLWIQXX ) and three other banks on its restricted financial institutions list. As a result, they will not be allowed to provide banking services to the state.

Moore reportedly said the state had determined that TD, along with Citigroup Inc., The Northern Trust Co. and HSBC Holdings PLC, "are engaged in boycotts of fossil fuel companies as defined under state law."

The report said he is among several U.S. state officials who have waged battle against the use of environmental, social and governance principles in guiding investment decisions as part of a Republican backlash against the risk-management field. It added Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Florida have made similar moves. A recent report by National Bank Financial said it had identified 20 states with rules that could be construed as anti-ESG.

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