Norwegian fund sells shares in five Israeli banks over Gaza war

The Norwegian State Global Pension Fund, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, is continuing its policy, initiated this August, of divesting its holdings in Israeli companies due to the war in Gaza. This time, it announced on Tuesday the sale of its shares in five Israeli banks, in addition to its holdings in the US industrial group Caterpillar. This decision is not the first: on August 11, it already sold its stakes in up to 11 Israeli companies and terminated all its contracts with external asset managers in the country.

The reason given this time is similar to that given two weeks ago: "the unacceptable risk that these companies contribute to serious violations of individual rights in situations of war and conflict." The oil fund is managed by the public bank Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), itself dependent on the Ministry of Finance, and follows the annual recommendations of the so-called Ethics Council for its investments.

In June, the fund held shares in 61 Israeli companies; in recent weeks, it has sold shares in about twenty companies.

The five Israeli banks affected are First International Bank of Israel, FIBI Holdings, Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank and Bank Hapoalim BM.

His investments in Israeli companies have been the subject of controversy in recent weeks, after Norwegian media revealed that he owned shares in companies linked to the Gaza war. Specifically, the country's main newspaper, Aftenposten , encrypted in 172 million kroner (14.3 million euros) was the value of the shares held by the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund in a company dedicated to maintaining Israeli fighter jets operating in Gaza. Later, another Norwegian media outlet reported that two external managers of the fund held shares in the same company, prompting a government reaction.

Specifically, it was the Norwegian Finance Minister, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who held several meetings with the fund's management and demanded that investments be limited to Israeli companies included in the benchmark equity index, in addition to demanding internal oversight of all of them, without resorting to external managers. "These measures have been taken in response to extraordinary circumstances. The situation in Gaza is a serious humanitarian crisis. We invest in companies operating in a country at war, and conditions in Gaza and the West Bank have worsened," the fund explained at the time.

Read also Norway's sovereign wealth fund reduces its investments in Israel due to Gaza Daniel R. Caruncho

As of June 30, the fund held shares in 61 Israeli companies worth 22.7 billion Norwegian kroner (1.925 billion euros). In recent weeks, the fund has sold shares in around twenty Israeli companies and reduced its total investment there by a fifth.