Statement from President & CEO, Priscilla Sims Brown, Regarding the NEC Climate Finance Report

WASHINGTON D.C., October 15, 2021 – Today, Amalgamated Bank released a statement from President and CEO Priscilla Sims Brown in response to the report from Brian Deese, Director of the National Economic Council and Gina McCarthy, National Climate Advisor. The report produces a full government framework and plans for addressing climate risk and ensuring stability for our communities, our financial system, and the federal government. The report was requested by President Biden as a part of a broader Executive Order issued on May 20^th 2021.

“Climate change is already taking its toll on communities and economies across the U.S. and the globe. Amalgamated Bank has taken significant action on climate finance through leading global economic initiatives and investments in sustainability. However, we recognize that we cannot meet our climate goals alone. The Administration’s plan for addressing climate related financial risk makes a powerful case that climate change is a systemic risk that requires urgent action, that prudential stewardship of our financial system requires a precautionary approach and a response from government at every level. The impacts to our economy are already costing tens of billions of dollars each year, but to address the systemic risk of a warming planet in future decades, science tells us mitigation must happen now. At the point where those risks materialize, the science tells us it is too late.

The rationale outlined by President Biden’s economic team is a clear call for action by regulators and policy makers at every level. It is also backed up by a plan that will bring security to retirement savings, our communities and the financial system that serves them, and the investments and resources of the federal government. We believe it is also supported by the policy positions adopted by the Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero, representing nearly $100 trillion in assets, of which Amalgamated Bank is a proud member.

We look forward to working with the Administration and independent agencies to see that this plan and the other actions called for in President Biden’s Executive Order on Climate Financial Risk is implemented swiftly and fully.”

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About Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank (“Amalgamated” or the “Bank”), the wholly-owned banking subsidiary of Amalgamated Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: AMAL), is a mission-driven New York-based full-service commercial bank and a chartered trust company with a combined network of six branches in New York City, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Boston. Amalgamated Bank provides commercial banking and trust services nationally and offers a full range of products and services to both commercial and retail customers. Since our founding in 1923, Amalgamated Bank has served as America’s socially responsible bank, empowering organizations and individuals to advance positive social change. Amalgamated Bank advocates alongside those working to make the world more just, compassionate, and sustainable. Amalgamated Bank is the country’s largest B Corp® bank and a proud member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. We don’t just have a mission, we are on a mission to advance economic, social, racial and environmental justice utilizing the tools of finance. For more information, please visit our website at www.amalgamatedbank.com.

Media Contact:

Cara Joftis
cara@jacobsonstrategic.com
Jacobson Strategic Communications
215-680-1699