Iran Sanctions Affect Public Companies

It’s a little disconcerting when you think about it, but interesting nonetheless how politics and the world order is infiltrating corporate life.

Iran Elections

Iran Elections (Photo Credit: Flickr: bioxid)

 
This month, public companies must begin reporting–in quarterly and annual reports to the SEC– transactions that they or any of their affiliates have with Iran.  In turn, if such a report is filed, a federal investigation will be triggered.
 
The new mandatory reporting requirement stems from passage last year of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, signed into law in August by President Obama.  The website www.govtrack.us called the Act a strengthening of Iran sanctions “for the purpose of compelling Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and other threatening activities.”
 
Previously, the SEC’s Office of Global Security Risk was charged with monitoring public companies’ activities that could relate to any of four countries–Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba–designated by the State Department as “sponsors of terrorism.”  Now, issuers are required to make active disclosures relative to Iran, rather than merely respond to SEC inquiries.
 
The major news outlets haven’t said too much about the new Act, which, granted, will impact only a relatively small percentage of the thousands of public companies–mostly shippers, financial institutions,
insurers and reinsurers. Nevertheless, how such companies ultimately communicate their Iranian transactions and the ramifications on their stock prices and customer reactions will be fascinating to watch.

 

Roger Pondel, rpondel@pondel.com