The 2018 Don't Bank on the Bomb report was released last night. The report is produced by PAX - a member of the Nobel
Peace Prize winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (iCAN) - and is the only report published each year detailing the global investments by financial institutions in
companies producing nuclear weapons.
This year's report details an increase of $(US)81 billion in new investment in 2017 compared to 2016. The report shows
20 companies in particular stand to profit the most from the increase in nuclear threats.
The 2018 Don’t Bank on the Bomb Report found:
~ A total of $(US)525 billion (an increase of $(US)81 billion) was made available to the nuclear weapon producing
companies, of which $(US)110 billion came from just three companies: BlackRock, Vanguard and Capital Group
~ 329 banks, insurance companies, pension funds and asset managers from 24 countries invest significantly in nuclear
weapons
The top 20 nuclear weapon producing companies stand to benefit the most from this increased nuclear threat, most of
which have dedicated significant lobbying resources in Washington DC
~ On a positive note, since the adoption of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 30 companies have ceased
investing in nuclear weapons.
~ Two of the top five largest pension funds in the world are divesting from nuclear weapons.
There are no New Zealand financial institutions in the 2018 'Hall of Fame', as there have been in previous years,
although the Super Fund is included in the Runners-up, the list of "imperfect exclusions" - financial institutions that
have taken the step to exclude nuclear weapon producers from their investments, but whose policy is not all-inclusive.
While commending the Super Fund for adopting a public policy on nuclear weapons, the report recommends that the Super
Fund "exclude all nuclear weapons producing companies involved in all delivery systems specifically designed for nuclear
weapons. Furthermore, the Fund should extend the scope of the policy to all financial products, including assets in
pooled hedge fund mandates".
Three of the Australian owned banks that operate in New Zealand - ANZ, ASB (part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia)
and Westpac - are included in the list of financial institutions that have been involved in financing one or more of 20
selected nuclear weapon companies between January 2014 and October 2017. Two of these - the ANZ and ASB, via the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia - have been involved in financing Serco, among others, by $(US)45 million and $(US)98
million respectively.
Serco New Zealand (part of the British company that, along with Lockheed Martin and Jacobs Engineering Group, manages
the operations of Britain's Atomic Weapons Establishment, and is responsible for manufacturing, maintaining and
developing new nuclear warheads for Britain's arsenal) is also supported financially by the New Zealand government -
initially through its (now rescinded) contract to run the Mt Eden Corrections Facility, and currently through its 25
year contract to operate the Auckland South Corrections Facility. Any contract with Serco arguably comprises a breach of
the prohibitions in the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act (1987) on aiding or abetting
anyone involved in the manufacture or possession of any nuclear explosive device.
Links to more information:
~ Don't Bank on the Bomb, download the full report, or download it chapter by chapter, at https://www.dontbankonthebomb.com/2018-report
~ Information about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament,
and Arms Control Act (1987) and is available on the iCAN Aotearoa New Zealand site, http://www.icanw.org.nz