Political Polarization and the Increasing Risk to Reputation
The extreme political polarization throughout the country is increasing reputational risk among financial institutions. For example, while its likely that Wells Fargo's decision to participate in the financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline underwent a thorough evaluation of the typical risks, it is unlikely that it factored in the possibility that the Seattle City Council, far removed from the project, would vote not to renew its contracts with Wells partly because of its participation in financing the pipeline. These are different times we live in. [2/23/17]
