Obviously the Banks HAVE NOT said they will stop funding cluster bombs producers.

As a matter of fact, it has been illegal for Banks or any other financial institution to fund transfer and trade in cluster bombs since the UK introduced new arms export control laws on 1st October 2008. It is good to know that the Banks agree to abide by existing UK law in this area!

Banks say they prohibit direct funding for the production of cluster bombs, but this isn’t how cluster bomb production gets financed. In any case, the UK government has stated that direct finance of cluster bombs production will be banned under the new UK legislation to ratify the Cluster Bombs treaty. Again, in this context, Banks are only stating what the law will soon require them to do!

The big loophole Banks cling to is “indirect finance” No reply has stated that Banks have agreed to end this form of finance. Indirect finance is where funds are provided to a cluster bombs producer but not specifically for the production of cluster bombs themselves. However, in nearly all cases, funds cant be ring fenced in such a fashion and allow the producer to allocate to whatever business activity it chooses.

Indirect finance is a morally bankrupt argument because Banks are still facilitating the production of these indiscriminate and horrific weapons, either by allowing your money to be channelled into the production or freeing up other finance to be used on cluster bombs. It would be hard to imagine a Bank justifying the funding of a company involved in other serious crimes such as money laundering, people and drug trafficking, serious sex offences or acts of terrorism on the grounds that it was only providing funds to part of the company involved in less heinous activities!

The UK government has just stated that it wants to end indirect finance for the cluster bombs production will be looking at measures to do this as part of its work around the current cluster bombs legislation.

So Barclays responds to Terry that the weapons resulting from their funding aren’t used to “oppress their OWN populations or to support unjustified external aggression.” Fine, but that doesn’t touch upon cluster bombs that are used against **other nations’** populations (incl. civilians). And cluster bombs have been part of external aggression that, according to the politics of whatever countries are involved, are not unjustified.

Essentially with that statement, Barclays isn’t saying anything about their involvement in cluster bombs specifically. I would like to know what they say about the specific claims of the CMC report. So, I shall ask them….and shall ask HSBC…and RBS, all of which I use for my accounts. With all the emails sent (According to Amnesty’s web site), I would be expecting to see a little bit more feedback on what kind of response or non-response there has been.

http://www.ikvpaxchristi.nl/files/Documenten/wap%20cluster%20munitie/Clustermunition/Stop%20Explosive%20Investments/Worldwide%20investments%20in%20cluster%20munitions_summary%20table%20Hall%20of%20Shame.pdf

Today I received a letter from Barclays dated 5 December 09 basically saying they take every step to ‘…….ensure that defence exports financed by Barclays are not used by foreign authorities either to oppress their own populations or to support unjustified external aggression……..’.

I am satifisied with their response and I understand that, with the postal service at the moment, any delay in their response was out of their control.

So give it some time people, they will get back to you.

Thanks Barclays, I appreciate you being upfront with your customers.

Ring them, I would love to know what they say

J

D

Any other Barclays customer had a different experience?