Norway wealth fund excludes bulldozer maker Caterpillar and five Israeli banks

Move to divest is due to 'unacceptable risk' that the companies contribute to rights breaches during war

Caterpillar building vehicles in San Leandro, California. Getty Images

Norway's $2 trillion wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Monday it has divested from US building equipment group Caterpillar and five Israeli banking groups on ethical grounds.

The five banks are Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, First International Bank of Israel and FIBI Holdings, the fund said in a statement.

They were excluded "due to an unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict", said the fund, which is operated by Norway's central bank.

Caterpillar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The fund's watchdog, the Council on Ethics, said that in its assessment, "there is no doubt that Caterpillar's products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law".

The breaches were taking place in Gaza and the West Bank, the council said, adding that "the company has also not implemented any measures to pre­vent such use".

"As deliveries of the relevant machinery to Israel are now set to resume, the council considers there to be an unacceptable risk that Caterpillar is con­tributing to serious violations of individuals’ rights in war or conflict situations."

The Norwegian fund announced on August 18 that it would divest from six companies as part of a continuing ethics review over the war in Gaza and developments in the West Bank, but declined at the time to name any groups until the stakes were sold.

The fund's watchdog had initially been scrutinising Israeli banks' practice of underwriting settlement building in the region.