Standard Ethics cuts JPMorgan sustainability rating over soccer saga

LONDON (Reuters) - Sustainability ratings agency Standard Ethics said on Wednesday it had downgraded the corporate sustainability rating of JPMorgan Chase over its role in financing the European Super League.

The planned soccer competition, has drawn opposition from the public, players and politicians alike since it was first announced, leading to a number of clubs pulling out of the project.

In response to the furore, Standard Ethics, which ranks companies based on their performance on a range of environmental, social and governance-related measures said it was downgrading the bank to E+ from EE- on its rating system.

It said the action amounted to a downgrade to "Non-compliant" versus the prior "Adequate.

"Standard Ethics judges both the orientations shown by the football clubs involved in the project and those of the U.S. Bank to be contrary to Sustainability best practices, which are defined by the agency according to UN, OECD and European Union guidelines, and take into account the interests of the stakeholders," it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Sujata Rao)