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Is Barclays investing billions in the military every year
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Barclays and Legal in General have recently come under scrutiny for being amongst the top
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10 major European investors in companies that manufacture weapons, both investing billions in the
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arms sector every year. A report from the Global Alliance for Banking on Values has revealed that the financial sector
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invested almost $1 trillion globally in the arms sector between 2020 and 2022
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Meanwhile, Barclays and Legal in general were amongst the financial sector, where amongst the the top 10 European investors in arms companies overall, contributing $6 billion and $5 billion
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respectively. Collectively, the top 10 European investors contributed $79 billion, or about
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8% of the total investments worldwide. An executive director at the Global Alliance for Banking
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on Values said they are calling on the financial industry to stop fueling the production
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of and trade in weapons and arms. While the report doesn't really go into much details on which
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armed companies were being selected for investments by major banks It does however come after firms such as BAE system and Chumring reported bumper profits Since Russia invasion of Ukraine BAE has seen its stock price skyrocket
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with the firm's order backlog reaching record levels in 2023, as global defense spending rose by 9% to a record $2.2 trillion last year
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However, some have argued armed companies should be seen as a less controversial investment
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ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Last year, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shaps claimed that divestments from the weapons industry
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due to ESG investing, was threatening industries critical to the nation's security
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The minister argues that the important values within ESG should not undermine capabilities
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developed to help the UK preserve peace and security. In November of last year, A was revealed that some ESG funds had quietly begun to add armed
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companies to their portfolios, reigniting the debate. So no, Barclays and Legal in general aren't technically investing in the military
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But what do you think? We here at City and would like to know your thoughts on the matter
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Should banks invest in weapons manufacturing companies? Let us know in the comments below
