Banks know their money makes genocide possible

Opinion by Els Hertogen, general manager of 11.11.11, and Bram Trachet, coordinator at Fairfin. Published by The morning.

There's a sentence from the recent report by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, that resonates: "No state, institution, or enterprise shall contribute to genocide or a regime of occupation." It's a moral bar, not a lofty ideal. And yet, Belgian banks fail to meet that bar.

A new report from Palestinian and international organizations, including 11.11.11 and Fairfin, shows that banks operating in Belgium—led by BNP Paribas and KBC—are channeling billions to companies contributing to the occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza. These are suppliers of weapons, AI software, surveillance technology, and infrastructure that oppress Palestinians daily. The banks consider these investments to be in "normal" companies. But since when have we considered it "normal" that Belgian savings indirectly flow to genocide?

This problem isn't new. We've been sounding the alarm with similar reports since 2021. The political response has always been meager. Then-Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) sent several concerned letters to BNP Paribas, a bank in which the Belgian state itself is the majority shareholder. When the bank assured the minister there was no problem, no further action was taken. Moral responsibility was outsourced: the poacher said there was no problem, the ranger let him get away with it.

Oil on the fire

Meanwhile, the situation has become far more serious. The destruction of Gaza is unfolding live on our phones. Families have been wiped out, children are starving, and since the ceasefire began, more than 1.500 buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by Israel. And yet our financial system continues to fuel the fire.

In recent months, Belgian media outlets have published one alarming report after another. About investors unknowingly investing in Israeli companies. About Palantir, which supplies software that determines where Israeli bombs and drones strike. About the list of companies the UN has implicated in war crimes and genocide. This isn't a series of isolated incidents, but a structural system that prioritizes profit over life.

Some banks are trying to go against the tide on their own. Private bank Degroof Petercam blacklisted Caterpillar. After dialogue, Argenta divested from specific companies contributing to the occupation. Triodos and vdk bank even have a clean slate. This demonstrates that banks are perfectly capable of making ethical choices when they so choose. This makes the standstill elsewhere all the more painful.

Change is possible once institutions take their responsibility seriously. But let's not pretend that this problem can be solved by banks' choices. The billions crucial for producing weapons, bulldozers, and spyware can only be stopped if political leadership compels financial institutions to do so. That's not a radical act; it's the elementary application of international law.

boundaries

It's up to the government to set the boundaries. Not with non-binding letters, but with clear rules: not a single Belgian cent to companies that contribute to war crimes, apartheid, occupation, or genocide. And in the meantime, it's up to the banks to divest from companies that violate human rights, just as other banks have already done. This would at least show that their sustainability rhetoric doesn't have to be empty.

As long as these rules remain in place, both the Belgian state and our banks are openly flirting with complicity. They may not be sending drones into the air themselves, but, in Albanese's words, they are enabling the conditions in which crimes thrive.

Anyone who claims this is complex is mistaken. It's not complex, but uncomfortable. Reports like this force us to acknowledge that genocide and occupation aren't taking place in a distant foreign country, but are also being fueled here: in banking spreadsheets, in political headquarters in Brussels, and in the stagnation of our government. Divestment and clear rules are no longer an option, but a necessity.

Anyone who doesn't do that today isn't looking away, but watching.