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ICCR Members on The Daily Show: Holier Than Dow June 20th, 2010
Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) working on financial reform appear on The Daily Show. Samantha Bee interviewed the group of Catholics: Seamus Finn, OMI, Sr. Barbara Aires, SCNJ, Fr. Joe LaMar, MM and Cathy Rowan, representing the Maryknoll Sisters.
Watch the video:
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Watch the video on the Daily Show website
Medicines Patent Pool Formally Established June 9th, 2010
The Board of UNITAID, the European entity funded by an airline tax to support increased HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB treatment in developing countries, has formally established a Medicines Patent Pool. NGOs and faith-based shareholders concerned about access to medicines among the poor in developing countries have pressed for the formation of a patent pool as a way to lower costs and increase availability of essential medicines.
The Board approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UNITAID and the Medicines Patent Pool Foundation (MPPF) on June 8. The MPPF will be established as an independent organization under Swiss Law. The 3 founders are Paulo Teixeira (Brazil), Charles Clift (UK) and Benard Pecoul (France).
Interested in learning more? Go to other posts on this website and the UNITAID website.
Seamus Finn, OMI and Faith Consistent Investing Profiled in the Huffington Post May 27th, 2010
Fr. Seamus Finn, Director of the Oblate JPIC Office, along with three other ICCR members, will soon appear on The Daily Show, highlighting their work on banking and financial sector reform. Read this fine profile on Fr. Seamus in the Huffington Post written by Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University: Mission Improbable: Priests on Wall Street.
Goldman CEO Calls for Internal Review; ICCR Derivatives Resolution Garnered 33.7% of Shareholder Vote! May 9th, 2010

ICCR Members Sr. Barbara Aires (Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, NJ), Seamus Finn, OMI, Cathy Rowan (Maryknoll) and Kate Walsh (Tri-State Coalition of Responsible Investors) head to the Goldman Sachs AGM, May 7, 2010
The head of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, at the company’s Annual Meeting last Friday, promised to conduct an internal review of the company’s business practices to make sure it was serving its customers and the public interest. The government has accused the bank of defrauding some clients in a derivatives deal.
The Missionary Oblates, along with other faith-based shareholders, filed a Resolution calling for greater transparency on derivatives trading, which captured 33.7% of the shareholder vote, a significant amount. Similar resolutions filed with Citigroup and Bank of America have won 30% and 39% of the shareholder vote, respectively, despite company opposition.
Strong 39% Vote at Bank of America for Religious Shareholders’ Proxy Resolution Maintains Growing Pressure for More Derivatives Disclosure on Wall Street April 28th, 2010
Vote at BofA’s Annual Meeting Comes on Heels of 30 Percent Support at Citigroup on Same Resolution; More Disclosure Vital at BofA Given How Mishandling of CDOs Tripped Up BofA’s Merrill Lynch.
In the second major 2010 shareholder vote urging more derivatives disclosure, a much higher-than-expected 39 percent of Bank of America (BofA) shares were cast today in support of a resolution sponsored by faith-based institutional investors belonging to the 300-member Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). The BofA shareholder vote took place as Congress debates the fate of financial regulatory reform, including increased derivatives disclosure.
The Bank of America shareholder vote improves on a 30 percent support level for the same proxy resolution at Citigroup on April 20, 2010. The ICCR member-sponsored resolution gave Bank of America shareholders an opportunity, as it did at Citigroup, to express their concerns about the lack of transparency in the derivatives market that contributed significantly to the financial crisis.
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