------ Forwarded Message > From: "dasg...@aol.com" <dasg...@aol.com> > Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:48:02 EDT > To: Robert Millegan <ramille...@aol.com> > Cc: <ema...@aol.com>, <j...@aol.com>, <jim6...@cwnet.com> > Subject: Our "Bailout" Banks Invested BLLIONS in Armaments Violating Int'l > Treaties >
> Report slams bank links to clusterbomb production > Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:57pm EDT > http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE59S4DL20091029 > > By Olesya Dmitracova > <http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=olesya.dmitracova > &> > > LONDON (Reuters) - Leading banks have funded arms manufacturers, whose > products include cluster bombs, to the tune of $5 billion in the past two > years, despite an international accord to ban such weapons, a study said > Thursday. > > The report by Profundo consultancy and several NGOs said the banks loaned > money to companies whose products include cluster bombs or their components. > > It did not say the funds went directly to make cluster bombs. The > manufacturers could use the money for any of their production lines. > > The top five loan providers were Bank of America, Citigroup , JP Morgan, > Barclays and Goldman Sachs, the study said. > > The researchers used publicly available information, such as that supplied by > stock exchanges and financial databases, to produce their study. > > According to the research, the banks have provided financing for diversified > manufacturer Textron, aerospace and defense group Alliant Techsystems and > defense contractor Lockheed Martin, all based in the United States. > > Barclays said in a statement it provided financial services to arms makers > within a specific policy framework, taking into account the likely use of the > equipment. > > "Our policy ... explicitly prohibits financing trade in landmines, cluster > bombs or any equipment designed to be used as an instrument of torture," > Barclays said. > > Asked to clarify, a Barclays' spokeswoman declined further comment. > > Bank of America and JP Morgan declined to comment while Citigroup and Goldman > Sachs also had no immediate reaction. > > Cluster bombs, which open in mid-air and scatter a multitude of bomblets over > a wide area, have killed and maimed tens of thousands of civilians, > campaigners say. > > Nations agreed to outlaw cluster bombs in May 2008. The resulting convention > will come into force when 30 countries have ratified it -- 23 have already > done so. > > Neither the United States nor Britain, where the top five loan providers are > based, have yet ratified the treaty. > > The Convention on Cluster Munitions includes a ban on assisting anyone to make > the bombs. > > "We feel very strongly that assistance in production means investment. If you > invest in a company, you're considered to assist the production of these > (bombs)," Roos Boer, one of the report's authors, said at the launch of the > study. > > The report said: "Financial institutions should develop policies that exclude > all financial links with companies involved in producing cluster munitions." > > It added: "Policies should not be narrowed to refusing project financing for > cluster munitions." > > The report also called on governments to draw up clear legislation to prohibit > investment in cluster bombs and to provide guidelines for financial > institutions. > > (Editing by Angus MacSwan > <http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=angus.macswan&;> ) > ------ End of Forwarded Message
