Banks active in Belgium continue to invest in nuclear weapons

Banks operating in Belgium, such as BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING or Santander, continue to invest in companies involved in producing, maintaining or modernising nuclear weapons. A new report commissioned by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the Dutch organisation PAX has revealed this, the National Action Coordination for Peace and Democracy (CNAPD) announced on Monday.

The survey was conducted among 24 major nuclear weapons producers contributing to the arsenals of China, France, India, Russia, the UK and the US. It shows that between January 2020 and July 2022, these companies benefited from 746 billion dollars invested by 306 financial institutions, an increase of 61.5 billion dollars compared to the period analysed.

According to the CNAPD, "the savings of Belgians end up in the hands of arms producers who ignore international law". For illustration, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and ING invest 12.7 billion, 11.45 billion and 545 million euros in weapons of mass destruction.

However, the National Action Coordination for Peace and Democracy believes there are good examples in Belgium, citing KBC in particular. "The Belgian bank has revised its investment policy by categorising nuclear weapons as controversial and by black listing companies specialising in atomic weapons," the CNAPD mentioned. "Other banks, such as VDK or Triodos, have always prohibited themselves from investing in companies involved in nuclear weapons."

^{A climate activist dressed up as a banker and wearing a mask with the Deutsche Bank logo poses in front of the bank's headquarters during a demonstration called by Fridays for Future, Greenpeace, KoalaKollektiv and others to protest against bank investments in fossil fuels, on August 13, 2021 in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany.}

^{© ARMANDO BABANI / AFP}