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Father Finn on a Clear Path in the Fight for Transparency

InvestingForCatholics
Wednesday, April 28, 2010

“Economy and finance, as instruments, can be used badly when those at the helm are motivated by purely selfish ends.”

-Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas In Veritate, July 2009

The battle lines have been drawn all over the financial world: Wall Street vs. the government, Main Street vs. Wall Street, Main Street vs. Wall Street AND the government… Investing for Catholics’ Seamus Finn has not been afraid to get down in the trenches. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate teamed up with Maryknoll Sisters, the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, N.J. and other members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility in filing a Resolution with Citigroup on the complex and often abused financial instruments known as derivatives. The filing got an impressive 30% of the shareholder vote at the banks’ Annual General Meeting. You can read the actual resolution here. 

Recently, Fr. Finn was quoted in Business Week as saying, “The use of these instruments, if they’re not disclosed by the dealers and the information made available, by their very nature can contribute to systemic risk.” Finn goes on to champion transparency by saying, “If taxpayers are going to own major shares of banks in exchange for bailouts then they should be just as active as other shareholders in providing guidance to management. The U.S. government controls over a quarter of outstanding Citigroup shares. It had an extraordinary opportunity here to vote all of its shares in telling Wall Street that more derivatives disclosure is vital.” He was also quoted in the Wall Street Journal as he spoke regarding the ICCR’s concern “about those who are on the margins of the financial system, those in developing markets and the emerging market world.”

Main Street’s distrust of government and Wall Street seems to be at a record high. With economic activity being an essential part of the human experience, it is important to stay on top of the external influences that shape the marketplace. Forces like culture and greed can turn what should be a positive force, into a negative one. Father Seamus Finn has been diligently fighting for the rights of investors to make informed investment decisions. At Investing for Catholics, we are proud to have him as part of our team.

Seamus Video See Father Finn speak about Socially Responsible Investing here.

pdf Catholics Called to Ethical Investments (April, 2010)
pdf Heeding the Call to Ethical Investing (power point)   (Video Presentation)
pdf Investing for Catholics new brochure (2010)

To learn more visit investingforcatholics.com or call 949-428-0432.


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