(Reuters) – India is aggressively pursuing tax claims against multinational firms operating in the country as the government seeks to rein in its budget deficit, taking particular aim at IT and back-office functions, tax officials say. It has targeted several multinational companies in recent years for tax audits on transfer-pricing, but over the past 12 [...]

A group of US investment institutions have filed shareholder resolutions at 40 companies calling on them to report on their spending on direct lobbying and lobbying via trade associations. The group wants greater transparency on how companies influence regulation and law-making. Backers of the initiative include investors such as the $134bn (€104bn) New York State [...]

In a report issued today, Bank of America announced it is ahead of schedule on its 10-year, $20 billion business initiative focused on addressing climate change, launched in 2007. Through June 2010, Bank of America has directed $8.4 billion through lending, investing, capital markets activity, philanthropy and the company’s own operations. Details can be found [...]

A fresh writedown for UBS. An ethical writedown, that is. The below chart compiled by Covalance – an ethical research outfit. As you’ll notice, UBS – generally a poorly behaved child – has been very naughty since mid-April. (…) HSBC, meanwhile, is good as gold. Last year major positive issues regarding the Banking industry have [...]

Interactions of banks with governments are increasingly criticized in terms of ethics; meanwhile, environmental initiatives and philanthropic donations are the industry’s main positive news cows, states a report published today by Geneva-based ethical reputation research firm Covalence – Covalence Banking Industry Report 2008. (…) The historical EthicalQuote ranking calculated since 2002 sees Banks dropping from [...]

Thousands of South Africans who suffered under apartheid won the right yesterday to sue a number of companies, including BP, Citigroup and Ford, for allegedly helping to perpetrate human rights abuses. The US Supreme Court ruled that three class actions can use the American legal system to sue approximately 50 international corporations who they believe [...]

According to the latest Banking Industry report from research group Covalence, competition for eco-minded customers has helped improve how banks’ services affect the environment. The study looked at the EthicalQuote Reputation Index for nine industries from June 2006 to June 2007 and found that the banking sector was ranked second highest in its overall reputation, [...]

Le secteur bancaire obtient la deuxième meilleure cotation éthique de juin 2006 à juin 2007 comparé à neuf autres secteurs, indique un rapport publié le 29 juin 2007 par la société genevoise Covalence, Covalence Banking Industry Report 2007. Au cours des 12 derniers mois le secteur bancaire a progressé dans le domaine des produits écologiquement [...]

Banks show the second best EthicalQuote reputation score from June 2006 to June 2007 compared to nine other industries, states a report released on 29 June 2007 by Geneva-based ethical reputation research firm Covalence, Covalence Banking Industry Report 2007. Over last year the Banking Industry has witnessed a favorable evolution in the areas of Eco-Innovativeness [...]

Within the industry (25 among the largest banks in market capitalization), HSBC is leading the way ahead of ABN AMRO and Bank of America, while US Bancorp and Banco Bilbao occupy the last positions. While global warming offers banks opportunities (carbon emissions reduction plans, investments in renewable energy), it also brings increased scrutiny on their [...]