State AGs turn ESG ratings into an antitrust and consumer-protection battleground

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, with other state AGs, is pressing Fitch, Moody’s and S&P over ESG factors in credit ratings for fossil-fuel companies and states. The allegations invoke methodology integrity, conflicts of interest, antitrust and unfair or deceptive practices. Legal teams advising financial institutions, ratings users and issuers should expect more scrutiny of how ESG assumptions are embedded in ostensibly financial judgments.