
Iran divestment moves closer
US - Efforts for "terror free" pension investment in the US have stepped up a level with senators beginning negotiations with oil and gas companies which have links to Iran.
Senior state, treasury and commerce department officials have met to discuss the tighter sanctions on dealings with the country proposed by the House Foreign Relations Committee.
These sanctions could prohibit investment in Iran or at least name and shame those pension funds investing in companies linked to the Islamic state.
Chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee, Christopher Dodd, said that since 1999, $126bn in oil and gas contracts had been signed or negotiated with Iran.
“There’s a growing interest here among our colleagues to tighten up legislatively, and we’ll make decisions in the coming days.”
The recently created Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Team have already met with over 40 banks around the world according to treasury undersecretary Stuart Levy.
Major players such as Credit Suisse and HSBC have already been convinced to halt transactions with Iran through discussions with the state department.
Latest stories
Five stories you may have missed this week
This week's top stories included Cardano announcing plans to acquire Now Pensions from a Dutch pension fund later this year.
RBS reports £100m GMP impact; slashes equity exposure by two thirds
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) faces a £102m impact on liabilities as a result of equalising guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs), according to its annual results.
Good communications are more important than ever
Malcolm Mclean says getting the channels of communication right and engaging more openly is a good starting point
Back to Top