A new campaign is targeting ASB due to its Kiwisaver funds having investments in Motorola, a company that supplies Israel’s military.  

Over three million New Zealanders have Kiwisavers across 350 funds, each with their own investment portfolio. According to the latest Kiwisaver annual report, the highest and fastest growing investment is in growth funds with 46%, or $51.4 billion, of our total funds there. Funds labelled as “socially responsible” are increasing too, but still only represent $1.4 billion – less than 2% of the total funds. Kiwisavers aren’t something many New Zealanders pay close attention to, unless they’re nearing a 65th birthday or lucky enough to consider buying a first home.

But with recent reports of Kiwisaver investments tied to Israel’s attacks in Gaza, a growing number of New Zealanders are voicing concern over their banks’ investments. Six thousand people and counting have signed a petition saying that if ASB doesn’t divest funds from Motorola Solutions Inc, they will switch banks at the end of November. Don’t Bank on Apartheid is the latest Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) campaign in New Zealand. They say that Israel is able to maintain its apartheid regime and expand its illegal settlements because of material support from overseas. Motorola provides telecommunications, surveillance and technology to the Israel Defense Force and illegal Israeli settlements. While ASB is the campaign’s current target, it is not the only bank or Kiwisaver fund manager that invests in companies with ties to Israel.

Which Kiwisavers are invested in Israeli interests?

In a written statement to The Spinoff, ASB confirmed investments in Motorola Solutions. It said the weight of the investments across its Kiwisaver funds ranges from 0.04% to 0.19% of net asset value – around 0.1% of its total Kiwisaver investments. The statement also noted that ASB is “closely following” and “deeply concerned” by the ongoing conflict.

Motorola Solutions is headquartered in the US, but provides services to Israel. According to Who Profits, an independent research centre founded in 2007 as a project of the Coalition of Women for Peace, Motorola Solutions is the sole supplier of the 4G cellular network for the Israel Defence Force (IDF). It also developed and supplied the IDF’s encrypted smartphones. Motorola is involved in the smart cards system at Israeli checkpoints which keep track of Palestinian drivers, merchants and transport companies. Motorola has also supplied, installed and maintained technological and security systems for Israeli settlements, police and prisons. 

ASB says it follows a responsible investment approach. It says the exclusions process takes into account international conventions and sanctions, and the position of the New Zealand government, including any sanctions. Despite some public pressure for divestments and sanctions, and the government’s own calls for a ceasefire and voting in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution in September – the New Zealand government has not imposed nor hinted at economic sanctions.

Data from the end of March, provided by Mindful Money, shows that BNZ also has Kiwisaver funds invested in Motorola, as well as Caterpillar and three Israeli banks. The investments into each bank represent 0.01% of its growth fund, and Motorola represents 0.05%. In September 2023, these numbers were zero. In that time the investment into Caterpillar has increased too – from 0.13% to 0.15%. 

Caterpillar Inc., also known as CAT, is a US manufacturer and provider of civil and military engineering machinery. Who Profits says that it’s a longstanding supplier of the IDF. Caterpillar provides the IDF with heavy engineering machinery, including wheel loaders, armoured excavators, mini loaders and several models from the D9 armoured bulldozer series (D9R, D9N, D9L and D9T). The machinery is reported to have been used for demolishing Palestinian houses, schools, factories and civilian infrastructure including water pipes. It has been used to construct illegal settlements, the Separation Wall in the occupied West Bank and the barrier surrounding Gaza. 

In a statement provided to The Spinoff, a BNZ spokesperson said that the decisions for the bank’s Kiwisaver investments are made by FirstCape, a group of wealth management and asset management companies including JBWere New Zealand, Jarden Wealth and Harbour Asset Management. Decisions are made “in accordance with a responsible investment policy”. 

All 350 Kiwisaver funds in New Zealand can be individually checked with Mindful Money’s Fund Checker, which uses data that managed investment funds report to the government’s ​​Disclose Register. The charity has identified 20 companies with direct activities in extending and maintaining Israeli settlements, including construction, financing, surveillance and weapons production which appear in New Zealand investment funds. It has also found 15 companies that supply weapons or components used by the IDF that have New Zealand investment. 

Which have divested?

On November 9 last year, Simplicity, a Kiwisaver provider and fund manager, announced it was immediately divesting holdings in three Israeli banks: Bank Hapoalim BM, Bank Leumi Le Israel BM, and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd. An internal review found that the banks did not meet the requirements of Simplicity’s responsible investment policy. A statement at the time explained that in “recent days” an increasing number of customers had contacted Simplicity about the situation in the Middle East. “We understand that people are trying to do their bit by ensuring their investments are not in any way supporting the conflict.”

Last November, Mindful Money hosted a meeting with Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine, and fund managers (including the major banks). The meeting was used to call fund providers to divest from the companies supporting settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

Since the last collection of data (March), both ANZ and Westpac claim to have divested. In a written statement provided to The Spinoff last week, an ANZ spokesperson said the bank has about $33 billion under management with no investments in Israeli bonds or in Israeli companies. In a statement provided to Justice for Palestine and seen by The Spinoff, they said that “as part of a recent review the decision was made to divest from Caterpillar.” Data from March shows the ANZ growth fund had invested 0.05% into Caterpillar. 

A Westpac spokesperson said that “following a recent review, we confirm that we no longer have any investments in Israeli banks” in a statement provided to Justice for Palestine and seen by The Spinoff. They said that Westpac’s policy excludes companies involved in manufacturing controversial weapons or deriving revenues from manufacturing and selling assault weapons to civilians. Data from March shows the Westpac growth fund had previously invested 0.06% of its funds in Caterpillar and 0.01% in Motorola. In a statement to The Spinoff, it confirmed that while it has recently divested from Motorola, a small fraction of funds is still held in Caterpillar as it has “not met our criteria for exclusion”.

Overseas there have been divestments too. French multinational insurer AXA has been slowly divesting from Israeli banks and Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. They were targeted by an eight year BDS campaign called Stop AXA Assistance to Israeli Apartheid.

In April Ireland’s sovereign investment fund divested a total of €2.95 million from Bank Hapoalim BM; Bank Leumi-le Israel BM; Israel Discount Bank; Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd; First International Bank and Rami Levi CN Stores. The minister for finance Michael McGrath said it was due to “certain activities” in the occupied Palestinian territory. 

In June, Norway’s largest private pension fund divested its stake of almost $70m in Caterpillar. The manager said in a statement that the manufacturer could be “contributing to human rights abuses and violation of international law in the West Bank and Gaza”.

So will 6,000 people really switch banks?

That’s what is being threatened if ASB does not divest by November 29. But not everyone who has signed the Don’t Bank on Apartheid petition is an ASB customer – organisers say about 2,000 of them are. On social media, ASB customers, some who have banked there for decades, are pledging to switch in passionate videos. 

ASB’s website says it has 1.3 million personal, business and rural customers, so 2,000 is 0.15% of customers. When asked if the bank had plans to change investments in the near future, ASB did not give a clear answer.  “We acknowledge those who have shared their views on how we invest, and we appreciate that this is an important issue for many Kiwi,” said a statement in response. ASB’s investment portfolio is “guided by processes, policies and frameworks” which are important because “we invest on our customers’ behalf and need to apply a transparent and unbiased approach”.