BlackRock May Escape Texas Blacklist

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick offered a sliver of hope to BlackRock Inc. that it may be eventually removed from the state’s list of oil boycotters.

The move came Thursday when Patrick laid out his wish-list for the state’s senate to study ahead of the 2025 legislative session.

Texas’ second-most powerful official instructed the senate’s State Affairs Committee to examine how a financial firm can be removed from the state’s list of so-called energy boycotters.

BlackRock was put on the list in 2022, which was created by Comptroller Glenn Hegar, in accordance with a Republican-backed law the year before.

Patrick doesn’t specifically mention BlackRock in his list of charges, but they are the most prominent U.S.-based institution on the boycott list, which is primarily made up of European financial companies. Inclusion on the list restricts state entities like pension funds from investing in the companies.

The announcement comes just two months after BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink traveled to Houston to take the stage with Patrick for a power grid investment summit. There, Patrick lauded Fink as the “king of Wall Street” and noted that his firm does invest in fossil fuels. It was an about-face for Patrick, who had pushed for the Republican-backed law.

Dan Patrick, lieutenant governor of Texas, left, and Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc., at the Texas Power Grid Investment Summit in Houston, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024.

Patrick’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for BlackRock did not have an immediate comment.