Investment Banking

JPMorgan and BAML raise most money for ‘contentious’ companies

First study to look at banks’ underwriting work through an ethical lens finds Wall Street banks have the least scruples

Coal stocks are among the contentious companies ruled out by big investors like Norway's sovereign wealth fund
Coal stocks are among the contentious companies ruled out by big investors like Norway's sovereign wealth fund Photo: Getty Images

JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are the three banks that have made the most money by raising capital for heavy polluters, arms manufacturers and other contentious companies, according to a new analysis.

The study, from Oxford academics Michael Urban and Dariusz Wójcik, is unusual because it analyses banks’ ethics by looking at the companies they help finance through the capital markets.

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