Don't Bank on the Bomb. A global report on the financing of nuclear weapons producers, November 2015

Financial institutions, by adopting public policies prohibiting investment in the nuclear weapons industry, actively demonstrate the stigma associated with these weapons of mass destruction. In highlighting these financial institutions, we aim to show that institutions can and do decide to ban investments in the nuclear weapon industry, and that policies in the financial sector are an important contribution to the global debate on nuclear weapons. Don't Bank on the Bomb 2015 also profiles financial institutions that have adopted, implemented and published a policy that comprehensively prevents any financial involvement in nuclear weapon producing companies. Thirteen financial institutions have a public policy that is comprehensive in scope and application, five more than listed in the 2014 report. These are identified in the Hall of Fame. The financial institutions in the Hall of Fame are based in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Don't Bank on the Bomb highlights another 40 financial institutions that have taken the step to exclude nuclear weapon producers from their investments, but whose policy is not all-inclusive in preventing all types of financial involvement with nuclear weapon companies. This is thirteen more financial institutions than listed in the 2014 report. The Runners-up category is necessarily broad. Financial institutions included range from those with policies nearly eligible for the Hall of Fame, to those with policies that still allow considerable sums of money to be invested in nuclear weapon producers. All of these are included to demonstrate that there is a wide and ongoing debate among financial institutions when it comes to including nuclear weapons association criteria in their socially responsible investment standards. However diverse these policies, they all express a shared understanding that involvement in nuclear weapons production is controversial or undesirable. As such, all these examples add to the growing stigma on nuclear weapons. Looking at the period starting January 2012, 382 banks, insurance companies, pension funds and asset managers from 27 countries were found that invest significantly in the nuclear weapon industry. 238 are based in North America, 76 are based in Europe, 59 are based in Asia- Pacific, 9 in the Middle East, and none are based in Africa. This is 29 fewer institutions than in the previous report. Don't Bank on the Bomb 2015 identifies 26 companies involved in the production, maintenance, and modernisation of nuclear weapons. Those 26 are based in France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. The French version of the document is an excerpt of the English report and focusses specifically on the French financial institutions. In total, more than USD 493 billion was made available to the nuclear weapon producing companies by the investors listed in the report. These investors assisted with share and bond issuances, owned or managed shares and bonds or had outstanding loans to nuclear weapon producing companies between January 2012 and August 2015. This report includes all outstanding loans during the research period, not only new loans issued. The top 10 investors alone provided more than USD 209 billion to the identified nuclear weapon producers