Republicans warn bank CEOs to tread lightly on social, cultural issues

The heads of the nation’s largest banks faced pointed criticism from Republicans Thursday, as they urged firms to refrain from weighing in on social and cultural issues. Senator Pat Toomey, the senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, urged banks to stop “embracing a liberal ESG agenda that harms America,” as chief executives appeared before Congress for an oversight hearing. Toomey, who frequently backs industry calls for lighter regulations, argued firms are out of bounds when they weigh in on non-banking issues like guns and abortion. “I can’t help but observe that when banks do weigh-in on highly charged social…