We've provided insights previously about increased regulatory
and litigation activity related to Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) disclosures by companies to current and
prospective investors. For those not yet entirely familiar with
ESG, Investopedia provides a nice overview. It states that ESG
criteria are "a set of standards for a company's behavior
used by socially conscious investors to screen potential
investments". Environmental criteria considers how a company
safeguards the environment, including corporate policies addressing
climate change, for example. Social criteria examines how it
manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the
communities where it operates. Governance deals with a
company's leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls,
and shareholder rights." Over the last year or so, federal
regulators of the banking and finance industry have been
particularly active in setting expectations of, and
