Swedbank

Swedbank is a Swedish financial institution serving 7.4 million private customers and 625,000 corporate and institutional customers. Swedbank also has operations in Norway, Finland, Denmark, the US, China, Luxembourg and South Africa and the Baltic countries.[1]  As of the end 2016, Swedbank held SEK 2,154 billion (€217 billion) assets under management.[2]

Swedbank’s Position Paper on Defence Equipment states: “Swedbank applies a zero tolerance principle for financial services to customers belonging to a Group that is manufacturing, modernising, selling or buying nuclear weapons.”[3] If a company decides to get involved in nuclear weapons, Swedbank does not terminate existing loan contracts. However, a renewal of loans falls under the restrictions of the Position Paper and is not allowed.[4] Swedbank Robur, Swedbank’s asset management arm, has implemented a policy that prohibits investment in nuclear weapon producers (developing, manufacturing, modernizing, maintaining, selling or buying nuclear weapons).[5]

Swedbank also divests from investment holdings in nuclear weapon producers.[6] The policy applies to all assets managed, except for investments made on behalf of third parties.[7] Swedbank Robur mainly works with internal asset managers. External managers are informed of Swedbanks policies but not systematically and they are not required to implement them.[8]

Swedbank Robur’s published exclusion list as of January 2018 contains the following companies for involvement with nuclear weapons: AECOM; Aerojet Rocketdyne, Airbus; Babcock International; BAE Systems; the Boeing Company; Booz Allan Hamilton; BWX Technologies; CACI International; China Shipbuilding Industry; Cohort; Constructions Navales Industrielles de la Méditerranée; Engility Holdings; Fluor Corporation; Fortive; General Dynamics; GP Strategies; Hanwha; Harris; Honeywell International; Huntington Ingalls; Jacobs Engineering; Larsen & Toubro; Leidos Holdings; Leonardo; Lockheed Martin; Moog; Motovilikhinskiye Zavody; Northrop Grumman; Orbital ATK; Poongsan Holdings; Premier Explosives; Raytheon; Rolls-Royce; Rolls-Royce Holdings; Safran; Serco; SGL Carbon; Tata Power; Thales; Ultra Electronics Holdings; United Technologies and Walchandnagar Industries.[9] The list is based on information from external research providers Global Engagement Services (GES) and Ethix SRI Advisors.[10]

Swedbank was also found to have below the threshold investments in nuclear weapon producing companies identified by this report.

How to improve the policy:

We commend Swedbank for adopting a public policy on nuclear weapons. We recommend Swedbank apply its policy to all financial products including third party investments and external asset managers, and terminate existing loan contracts with nuclear weapon producers. We look forward to engaging with Swedbank, so a strong and comprehensively applied policy may be listed in the Hall of Fame in a future update of this report.

[1] Swedbank, “About Swedbank”, website Swedbank (http://www.swedbank.com/about-swedbank/index.htm), viewed 23 January 2018.

[2] Swedbank, “Swedbank in brief”, available at http://qfx.quartalflife.com/clients/(S(pwx02bx4mdmpae1chytr4fyo))/_Temp/Swedbank-Factsheet-pwx02bx4mdmpae1chytr4fyo.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018

[3] Swedbank, “Position Paper – Defence Equipment”, website Swedbank (https://www.swedbank.com/idc/groups/public/@i/@sc/@all/@gs/@com/documents/publication/cid_2091761.pdf), viewed 23 January 2018.

[4] Swedbank, written response to Profundo dated 27 May 2014.

[5] Swedbank, “Annual Report 2014”, p.177, available at https://www.swedbank.com/idc/groups/public/@i/@sbg/@gs/@ir/documents/financial/cid_2005852.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018; Swedbank, written response to PAX dated 30 April 2015.

[6] Swedbank, written response to Profundo dated 27 May 2014.

[7] Swedbank, “Position Paper – Defence Equipment”, website Swedbank (https://www.swedbank.com/idc/groups/public/@i/@sc/@all/@gs/@com/documents/publication/cid_2091761.pdf), viewed 23 January 2018.

[8] Swedbank Robur, written response to Profundo dated 27 May 2014.

[9] Swedbank Robur, “Exclusion List”, January 2018, available at https://www.swedbank.com/idc/groups/public/@i/@sc/@all/@gs/@com/documents/article/cid_2035350.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018.

[10] Swedbank Robur, written response to Profundo dated 27 May 2014.

Last updated March 2018