Overview

• Norges Bank Investment Management said it will divest after determining there is an unacceptable risk the firms contribute to violations, acting on the advice of its independent Council on Ethics.
• The council stated that Caterpillar bulldozers are used by Israeli authorities in the widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank.
• The fund also removed Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, First International Bank of Israel and FIBI Holdings after concluding they provided financial services enabling settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
• NBIM held about 1.2% of Caterpillar, valued at roughly $2.1 billion as of June 30, while stakes in the five Israeli banks were valued around $661 million, taking the total near $3 billion.
• Caterpillar is the first major U.S. company excluded in the fund’s current review of Israel-linked exposure, which continues under heightened political scrutiny in Norway ahead of elections.