New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer Offers Perspectives on
Corporate Governance to Faith-Based Institutional Investors

Contacts: Sister Barbara Aires, SC (c/o 212-870-2296)
Rev. Seamus Finn, OMI (202-491-4031)
Juanita Scarlet (212-416-8060)

New York City, New York - New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer will offer his perspectives on corporate governance to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a leader in the socially responsible investment movement, on February 12 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.

The event will be held in New York City at the Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive, First Floor Dining Room, New York, NY. (Use entrance at 120th and Claremont.)

On December 20, 2001, Mr. Spitzer (click here for full Spitzer bio), along with Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Harvey Pitt, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the New York Stock Exchange, the North American Securities Administrators Association and state securities regulators, announced a settlement with the nation's top investment firms to resolve issues of conflict of interest. The Global Settlement concluded a joint investigation begun last April into the undue influence of investment banking interests on securities research in brokerage firms. This concern arose from Attorney General Spitzer's investigation showing that analysts at Merrill Lynch were under pressure from the investment banking division to provide misleading and overly favorable ratings in order to attract and keep investment banking business from these rated companies. The details of the regulations, which will be agreed to from the Global Settlement, are yet to be finalized.

This is an issue of great concern to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a coalition of 275 religious institutional investors with a combined portfolio valued at over $110 billion. ICCR members use their stock ownership position to press corporations to be more socially and environmentally responsible. Each year ICCR members sponsor over 100 shareholder resolutions on a wide range of issues.

"For many years, ICCR has challenged financial institutions about the impact their practices have on society, particularly the economically poor. We've addressed issues such as criteria for lending, the instability of the international financial system, money laundering and other corrupt practices. Our shareholder resolutions this year - on separating analysts from investment banking and on disguising loans as trades through the use of special purpose vehicles - are calls for greater transparency and disclosure in the global financial system," said Rev. Seamus Finn, co-chair of ICCR's Global Finance and Community Economic Development Steering Committee.

Last fall, ICCR member organizations filed shareholder resolutions with investment houses, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, J.P. Morgan Chase, asking that the compensation of analysts be entirely separated from the investment banking business. Substantive meetings with investment bank officials led the shareholders to withdraw the resolutions after the Global Settlement was announced.

"Research, investment advice, risk analysis and underwriting are important services upon which the investing community relies. These activities also have serious consequences for underserved populations, for countries that were left behind in the global economic boom years and for the fragile ecological balance upon which we all rely," said Sister Barbara Aires, co-chair of ICCR's Global Finance and Community Economic Development Steering Committee.

David Zellner, Managing Director of Finance and Investments of the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church, a fund in excess of $10 billion dollars, stated: "Most investors heavily rely on Wall Street analysts as a source of information regarding their existing and potential equity and fixed income investments. It is imperative that Wall Street analysts interests are directly aligned with the investors they serve rather than with their firm's investment banking program."

ICCR awaits the SEC's final approval of the Global Settlement and will be paying close attention to its implementation. While ICCR welcomes greater transparency and disclosure in finances and the growing interest in corporate governance, its members and associates continue to urge corporations to be more forthcoming on disclosing the social and environmental impacts of their policies and practices and on developing appropriate tools to communicate this information to investors.

Details:
Location/Time : February 12, from Noon to 2:00pm, at The Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive, First Floor Dining Room, New York, NY. (Use entrance at 120th and Claremont.) Admission for ICCR Members is $35, and $70 for the General Public.

Please click here to print out a reservation form (Adobe Acrobat format). The form must be returned by February 4 to Ms. Siobhan McGrath, at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 550, NY, NY 10115, or by fax at 212-870-2023. For more information, call 212-870-2599 or send an email to: smcgrath@iccr.org.