“Don’t Bank on the Bomb” is a new report from ICAN and IKV Pax Christi detailing how private and public financial institutions from around the world invest almost $314 billion (U.S.) into 27 companies involved in the production, maintenance, and modernization of nuclear weapons. Depending on their investments and practices, financial institutions are divided into a global “Hall of Shame” or “Hall of Fame.”

Of the 298 leading financial investors and loan providers listed in the “Hall of Shame,” the most heavily invested in nuclear weapons include State Street, Capital Group of Companies, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Blackrock (U.S.); Barclays Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland (U.K.); BNP Paribas (France); Deutsche Bank (Germany); Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (Japan), Life Insurance Corporation (India); and UBS and Credit Suisse (Switzerland).

Financial institutions with a comprehensive policy to divest from nuclear weapon producers are listed in the “Hall of Fame.” Twelve financial institutions are on this list, none of which are Canadian.

Susi Snyder, a co-author of the report, says the time has come to push for divestment:

After all the financial scandals, crises and promises to act in a more responsible and transparent way, here is the evidence that these same financial institutions continue to make unethical investments into these weapons of mass destruction. As we have seen from the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, there is a real risk that as long as weapons of mass destruction are not comprehensively eliminated, they may be used – these investments in terror must be stopped.

Does your financial institution invest in nuclear weapons?

Here is a list of Canadian institutions listed in the “Hall of Shame” and the amounts they have invested in, or available for, nuclear weapons producers (all amounts in U.S. dollars):

• Bank of Montreal, $209.70 million
• Burgundy Asset Management, $44.09 million
• Gryphon International Investment Corporation, $55.71 million
• Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, $54.80 million
• Power Corporation of Canada, $888.54 million
• Royal Bank of Canada, $941.25 million
• Scotia Bond Co, $33.30 million
• Scotiabank, $1,176.70 million
• TD Bank, $928.34 million

Download the Canadian briefing
Download the full report
Download the executive summary