California State Teachers' Retirement System and New York City Retirement Systems officials called on credit card companies to help track gun and ammunition purchases as a way of detecting suspicious activity.
In letters sent to executives at American Express, Mastercard International and Visa, Aeisha Mastagni, portfolio manager for sustainable investment and stewardship strategies at the $311.7 billion West Sacramento-based CalSTRS, and Brad Lander, the city comptroller and fiduciary for the five pension funds in the $239.5 billion New York Retirement Systems, said the credit card firms have "a responsibility to prohibit the use of its network for illegal activity," and that not doing so "can result in regulatory, reputational, and litigation risks that may harm long-term shareholder value."
The investors want the companies to support a new merchant category code for gun and ammunition stores, similar to ones used for grocery stores, sporting goods stores and other retailers.
The letters call on the credit card companies to support a pending application by Amalgamated Bank to the International Organization for Standardization to establish a merchant category code for stand-alone gun and ammunition stores.
Following reports that credit card companies "pushed back" on the application, the pension fund officials want transparency on how the companies' boards handled the issue and whether they are "appropriately considering the risks inherent in failing to take action to report suspicious purchasing activity at these retailers," the letters said.
