11:03 AM EST, 03/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with comments from Equator Principles in the fifth paragraph)

Bank of America ( BAC ) , Citigroup ( 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, spokespeople for Citigroup ( C ) and 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.

"Becoming a signatory to the Equator Principles is voluntary, and as such Equator Principles Financial Institutions are able to choose to de-list at any time," the group's spokesperson told MT Newswires in an emailed statement.

"Each EPFI makes their own independent decisions and the office of the Equator Principles does not comment on any EPFI's reason for de-listing," Equator Principles' spokesperson added.

None of the banks immediately responded to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

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