08:42 AM EST, 03/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with a comment from Citi in the fifth paragraph.)

Bank of America ( BAC ) , Citi (C), JPMorgan (JPM), and Wells Fargo ( WFC ) are no longer signatories to the Equator Principles, its website showed.

The four major US banks voluntarily exited the group, which lists industry guidelines for assessing environmental, social, and governance factors in project financing, according to the website.

According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo ( WFC ) cited a restructuring by the organization as the reason for their departures.

A JPMorgan ( JPM ) spokesperson said it was no longer necessary to maintain membership as it had invested in environmental and social risk experts and in-house processes that would stay aligned with the principles, the report said. Bank of America ( BAC ) reportedly said the objectives of the Equator Principles would remain in their risk policy framework.

"The Equator Principles recently reorganized forming a new entity with new governance at the end of last year, and after careful consideration, we elected not to join the new organization at this time," Citi told MT Newswires in an emailed statement, adding that it will continue to implement the group's guidelines in its transactions.

Bank of America ( BAC ), Wells Fargo ( WFC ), JPMorgan ( JPM ), and the Equator Principles did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

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