CND has welcomed a new report which lays bare the financing of nuclear weapons. Don’t Bank on the Bomb, produced by IKV Pax Christi and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), details how 298 of the world’s leading banks and financial institutions invest almost $314bn in companies involved in the production, maintenance and modernisation of nuclear weapons.
The report reveals the extent of loans and investment to 27 companies, including those involved in the UK’s Trident nuclear weapon system such as Babcock International, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Rolls-Royce.
CND’s General Secretary Kate Hudson said:
‘The more scrutiny there is of the funding of nuclear weapons companies the better. Reports like this, which expose the sources of loans and investment for nuclear weapons producers, serve to inform consumers and better equip us in applying direct pressure to our own banks and building societies to disinvest from companies involved in the production of these devastating and indiscriminate weapons.’
‘Our focus is often naturally on the arms companies themselves – but these financial institutions provide the lifeblood of the arms industry. Consumers should call on their banks to pull their money out of these awful companies.’
As well as a “Hall of Shame”, the report also includes a “Hall of Fame” for companies which have more ethical investment practices: including 12 who prohibit any kind of investment in nuclear weapons and 20 others who have restrictions in place.
Hudson said: ‘It goes to show that not only is investment in nuclear weapons producers by no means inevitable, but ethical investment is becoming ever more popular with consumers.’