Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

UBS among leading non-US investors in nuclear weapons producers, says study

UBS singled out for financing nuclear weapons manufacturers
UBS was the 9th biggest non-US investor, according to the ICAN study. Keystone-SDA

The number of financial institutions funding major nuclear weapons manufacturers continues to fall, a new report shows. The Swiss bank UBS bank is one of the top 30 investors.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

UBS has injected close to $2.5 billion (CHF2.2 billion) in the form of shares or bonds, according to a report published by the Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Atomic Weapons (ICAN). UBS was the 9th biggest non-US investor. The Swiss bank also granted loans or subscriptions worth over $3 billion.

Last year, a total of 260 institutions had financing or investment relations with one or more of the 24 nuclear weapon producing companies. This figure has fallen by 27 over the space of one year, and by more than 70 since the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came into force in 2021. Loans also fell by $6 billion to under $270 billion.

More

This situation “shows the power of the treaty to make these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons inhuman”, according to ICAN Executive Director Melissa Parke. Despite this, the value of holdings or bonds in the main nuclear weapons manufacturers rose to $513 billion.

More

Switzerland has still not joined the above-mentioned treaty, despite a motion approved by parliament.

ICAN, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, launched a popular initiative in July in response to this situation. Nearly half of the world’s states have ratified the agreement, signed it or said they would do so.

A group of over 130 investor institutions, four of which are Swiss, supports the ban treaty. These entities manage more than $4 trillion in assets.

More

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Former US general advises Switzerland to prepare for war

More

Former US general advises Switzerland to prepare for war

This content was published on According to former United States general Ben Hodges, the withdrawal of US troops from Europe is only a matter of time. In an interview with SonntagsBlick, he advises Switzerland to prepare for war.

Read more: Former US general advises Switzerland to prepare for war
Diccon Bewes

More

Swiss-British author Diccon Bewes dead at 57

This content was published on The author of the bestseller Swiss Watching and former member of SWI swissinfo.ch's Public Council, Diccon Bewes, died on March 11 after a battle with cancer.

Read more: Swiss-British author Diccon Bewes dead at 57
Bernese anti-separatists celebrate the vote of 16 March 1975

More

Anti-separatists in Bernese Jura mark 50th anniversary of crucial vote

This content was published on Anti-separatist circles celebrated in Tramelan (BE) on Saturday the 50th anniversary of the vote of 16 March 1975 in which the population of the Bernese Jura chose to remain part of the Bernese Confederation. The theme of the jubilee was the identity of the Bernese Jura after Moutier's departure.

Read more: Anti-separatists in Bernese Jura mark 50th anniversary of crucial vote
237 Swiss companies with CO2 reduction targets

More

Over 200 Swiss firms sign up to CO2 reduction targets

This content was published on To date, 237 companies from Switzerland have joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), committing to CO2 reduction targets in line with the Paris Accord.

Read more: Over 200 Swiss firms sign up to CO2 reduction targets

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR