Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs have also withdrawn from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance in the past month, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.

Since the first SLL was arranged roughly seven years ago, the market for such loans has grown to almost $1.8 trillion.

Institutions and their investors are facing pressure from climate activists, cautiously awaiting interest rate cuts and adjusting to new Federal Reserve and FDIC policies.

Sustainability-linked bonds (SLB) make up roughly $280 billion of issuance and can play an enormous part in transitioning the world economy.

The public retirement fund, one of the biggest in the US, said four years ago it would review all of its fossil-fuel holdings as it sought to reduce investment risks linked to climate change.

Left-leaning shareholder groups are asking JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and other large asset managers to explain a recent decline in their support for certain environmental and social policies at public companies.

The arrangement is part of a de-risking clause attached to a $5 billion strategy from Alterra, an investment vehicle launched during the COP28 summit in Dubai.

Kevin Meyersburg, who is white, says in a lawsuit that the Wall Street investment bank terminated his employment and replaced him with a Black woman who is less qualified for the position. Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

The agency's president, Alanna McCargo, called the nonbank liquidity issue "the biggest of our time," while speaking at the Bipartisan Policy Center Tuesday.

Nearly a quarter of respondents in North America this year said sustainability is a primary or secondary objective, compared to 37% who said the same last year, according to an HSBC survey of professionals in roles related to ESG decision making.