This is the conclusion of the PAX research, reviewed by BNR. The Netherlands-based peace organization today publishes an annual overview of global investment in the nuclear weapons industry. Aegon Group and ING Group are the only Dutch investors mentioned in the report.
Banned in the Netherlands, allowed “internationally”
Aegon Group owns shares in British arms maker BAE Systems worth $200 million and bonds in Leonardo and Jacobs Engineering worth $20 million and $60 million respectively. All of these companies are off limits under Aegon’s Dutch Ethical Guidelines for Investments due to their involvement in the production of “controversial weapons”.
That only suffered for “Aegon as a Dutch investor,” an Aegon Group spokesman told BNR. “Aegon worldwide only invests in nuclear weapons manufacturers that supply only those countries that are also authorized to possess nuclear weapons under the United Nations Non-Proliferation Treaty.” This historic nuclear weapons treaty seeks to limit the possession of nuclear weapons to the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.
ING Group has lent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to both Airbus SAS and American Fluor Corporation. The bank states on its website that it never supports the production of nuclear weapons. However, it does not exclude companies developing secondary activities in the nuclear sector. “Then we put it in one side letter determined that borrowed money should not be used for that type of business,” Arnaud Cohen Stuart, Head of Business Ethics, told BNR. “As a bank you can make more deals than an investor.”
However, providing such a loan remains a trade-off, says Stuart. “We see the social value of Airbus aircraft, but have also expressed concern about their nuclear weapons activities.” Both Airbus and Fluor derive most of their revenue from non-military products.
Investment in weapons has declined in recent years
However, PAX researcher Alejandra Muñoz believes that every penny at Airbus is too much. “Even if you say: ‘Let’s invest only in this branch’, you indirectly free up money for the production of nuclear weapons.” You support nuclear disarmament. “As long as these weapons are there, there is a possibility that they will be used.”
Dutch investment in the arms industry has fallen sharply in recent years as investors increasingly value their social impact. This is evident from the data from De Nederlandsche Bank, which ESB released about last month. The war in Ukraine may seem to herald a break in the trend. In October, for example, Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren criticized the investment restrictions. “Now we see that we simply need the arms industry,” Ollongren said at the time. “Category exclusion means we can no longer adequately defend ourselves.”