A council pension fund has sold its shares in an Israeli bank at the centre of a global divestment campaign.
Falkirk Pension Fund (FPF) had £6m invested in Bank Hapoalim – Israel’s largest bank – but recently sold its holding on the advice of a fund manager.
A council pension fund has sold its shares in an Israeli bank at the centre of a global divestment campaign.
Falkirk Pension Fund (FPF) had £6m invested in Bank Hapoalim – Israel’s largest bank – but recently sold its holding on the advice of a fund manager.
Bank Hapoalim has been targeted due to its financing of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
FPF claimed the move was not a response to the global divestment campaign but its decision has been welcomed by pro-Palestinian campaigners in Scotland.
We revealed last year that Scots pension funds invested millions in companies reportedly on a United Nations (UN) blacklist for doing business in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The UN’s blacklist has 206 firms who are listed for acting in violation of “internal law and UN decisions”.
Israeli media has named 25 of the companies including HPE, RE/MAX and Bank Hapoalim who all carry out business in the Occupied Territories.
Critics of these companies argue that pension funds should exclude ‘unethical’ investments from their portfolios and abide by ethical principles. But the funds point out that they are legally bound to secure the best returns for investors.
According to Time to Divest, Bank Hapoalim provides financing for the construction of housing projects in Israeli settlements and is a guarantor and loan maker to companies who build in the Occupied Territories.
FPF manages pension funds for Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils. It has £2.3bn of globally invested assets and until recently that included £6m in Bank Hapoalim.
Confirming the shares had been sold, the fund said external investment managers make investment decisions on its behalf.
A spokesman for the FPF said: “The investment manager holding the Bank Hapoalim recently re-evaluated the stock in terms of its risk and return characteristics and decided to sell the stock. There was no instruction to sell given to the manager by the fund. In general terms, the fund does not have a policy of divestment from companies.
He added: “Where corporate governance matters are of a concern the fund prefers to engage with and, if necessary, apply pressure to companies by being part of collaborative organisations such as the Local Authority Pension Funds Forum. The fund does not invest to further ethical or political aims but in order to meet its fiduciary responsibilities to scheme members and sponsoring employers.”
The move was welcomed by Sofiah MacLeod, of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who said it was an “important step forward to ensure that our pension funds are not investing in companies complicit in Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights.”
