Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon)

New York
Diversified Financials

Corprate Bias Ratings

Risk Level:

Rating - Caution
Medium Risk

Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), an American investment bank, allegedly fired a Christian employee due to disagreements over LGBTQ issues, and the resulting lawsuit ended in a settlement. The bank vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies and does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees. BNY Mellon does not discriminate against religious organizations in its charitable giving, though. BNY Mellon also covers abortion-related travel costs for employees and "medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children. The company advocates for gender ideology in the public square. BNY Mellon is a signatory of the Business Roundtable's 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism. However, it has not used its political contributions to advance ideological causes. For these reasons, BNY Mellon receives a Medium Risk rating.

Criteria
Risk Level
Rationale
Corporate Weaponization
Criteria

Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level
Rationale

BNY Mellon received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. Among other requirements, this means the company has a written policy pledging to vet vendors for LGBTQ policies (1)(2). Additionally, a BNY Mellon recruiter claims she was fired because she publicly said that her religious beliefs prohibited her from supporting the LGBTQ community outside the workplace. BNY Mellon, however, claims she was fired for unprofessional conduct after an altercation (3). The dispute ended in a settlement in October 2021 (4).

Criteria

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level
Rationale

BNY Mellon does not discriminate against religious organizations in its charitable giving (1).

Criteria

Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.

Risk Level
Rationale

BNY Mellon does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy
Criteria

Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level
Rationale

BNY Mellon is a member of LGBT Great (1). The CEO of BNY Mellon, Robin Vince, is a member of the Business Roundtable and Former CEO Charles Scharf signed its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders and customers (2)(3). BNY Mellon has advocated for LGBT causes on its social media accounts (4). The company is a member of Climate Action 100+, committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 (5).

Criteria

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level
Rationale

BNY Mellon has a perfect score on the HRC’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index. This score indicates the company covers the cost of “medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children (1)(2). BNY Mellon allegedly funded a Planned Parenthood event (3). BNY Mellon also will reimburse employee expenses for out-of-state abortions (4). BNY Mellon is a Bronze sponsor of Out & Equal (5).

Criteria

Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level
Rationale

BNY Mellon has not used its political contributions for ideological purposes (1)(2)(3).

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
December 6, 2023

Company reports are intended for educational use only. Full Disclaimer

Voting History

Date
ESG Category
Proponent
Summary of ResolutionMgmt RecTotal Vote % in Favor
4/12/23GovernanceJohn CheveddenRequire Shareholder Approval of Termination PayAgainst11.70%
4/12/22GovernanceKenneth SteinerSpecial Meetings - Reduce Ownership Req. to 10%Against38.12%
Generate Reports
Clear
Toast

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.

Accept