CEOs of big banks are not looking for Trump's agreement on peace in the Middle East



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Michael Corbat, Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Inc., Jamie Dimon, Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., James Gorman, Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley, Brian Moynihan, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America Corp. , Ron O. Hanley, President and CEO of State Street Corp., Charles Scharf, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of New York, Mellon Corp., and David Solomon, Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs & Co., are sworn before a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on April 10, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Alex Wroblewski | Getty Images

The leaders of the largest US banks refuse to participate in the economic workshop organized by the Trump administration in Bahrain in order to revive their peace plan in the Middle East, CNBC learned.

The White House, Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan, Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, and Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup, attended the "Peace to Prosperity" forum, according to people with firsthand knowledge of the case.

None of these executives will participate in the event, added these people.

While relatives of the leaders say they will not participate because of scheduling conflicts, their absence is a blow to the administration's efforts to bring together influential US business leaders to begin a dialogue on investments in the region.

The three banks have commercial ties with the Middle East, including offices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

CNBC first reported that the White House had invited many allies of President Donald Trump. But we still do not know how many Trump employees will be present.

Tom Barrack, inaugural president and founder of Colony Capital, was invited and his spokesman told CNBC that he would visit the Gulf State. Steve Schwarzman, CEO of private equity giant Blackstone and donor of the Trump campaign, will probably make the trip, told CNBC Thursday people familiar with the subject.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been invited but can not do it. It is unclear whether Dina Powell of Goldman Sachs, who was Trump's badistant national security adviser, will be in attendance. A Goldman spokesperson did not answer questions about whether Goldman's chief, David Solomon, had received an invitation. A Wells Fargo spokesman declined to say whether his acting CEO, C. Allen Parker, had been invited.

The representatives of J.P. Morgan, Citi and Bank of America declined to comment. The White House did not return a request for comment.

The meeting is part of Trump's efforts to conclude "the agreement of the century" for Israeli-Palestinian peace. The Bahrain rally will focus on the economic side of the campaign led by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior advisor to the White House. Kushner and a team of senior White House officials are trying to bring Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the negotiating table since the early days of the administration.

Last month, the White House announced the Bahrain Summit, described at the time as an opportunity for participants to "mobilize support for potential economic investments and initiatives that can be made. possible by a peace agreement ", with particular emphasis on Palestinians.

"I look forward to these important discussions on a vision that will offer Palestinians exciting new opportunities to reach their full potential," said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at the time of the conference announcement. .

Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders and business leaders are boycotting the workshop. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas opened fire.

"The Trump Century Accord will go to hell, as will the economic workshop in Bahrain that the Americans intend to introduce and present illusions," Abbas said last week.

Representatives from wealthy Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will be present. Qatar officials are also ready to participate.

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