Most damaging of all, the PSC claims that Elbit is “associated” with the production of “banned cluster munitions”, a claim the company has refuted.
Protests, mass account closures and vandalism of Barclays’ branches are all aimed at prompting the bank to cut all financial ties with these defence businesses.
However, Barclays claims protestors have fundamentally misunderstood its business.
The bank issued a document addressing the claims, and strongly rebutting the allegations made by the protesters. Banks are not the same as fund managers, Barclays pointed out, and its so-called “investments” reflect the shares held by its private wealth and retail customers in their own personal accounts, rather than the bank itself.
“We are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a ‘shareholder’ or ‘investor’ in that sense in relation to these companies,” it said.
To head off the accusations against Elbit, which provokes the most fury from activists, Barclays also pointed out that the same company supplies the UK armed forces.
“We would cease any relationship with any business where we saw evidence that it manufactures cluster bombs or components,” it added.
The response is not enough to quell activists. In a statement, the PSC said: “Holding these shares on behalf of clients doesn’t somehow abrogate Barclays’ ethical and moral responsibilities.
“However it holds them, Barclays is profiting from the production of weaponry which is then used in Israel’s attacks of Palestinians.”
Barclays is not the only lender facing fire over its relationship to Elbit. Canada’s Scotiabank faced a campaign last year demanding the bank divest shares in Elbit. Scotiabank said the claims contained misinformation and “confusion”.
Despite campaigners often seeming like fringe voices in the City of London, their criticism of defence firms has gained traction in some parts of the mainstream money management community.
KLP, Norway’s largest pension fund, which manages $100bn (£79bn) of assets, has blacklisted investments in companies that make “controversial” weapons.
These include Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Rolls-Royce. KLP said it remained an investor in Barclays.
