Scrutiny over the Government Pension Fund Global's (GPFG) Israeli investments has continued, with Norges Bank confirming that a further six companies have been excluded for posing an unacceptable risk of contributing to serious human rights violations in situations of war and conflict.

The Norges Bank Executive Board decided to exclude First International Bank of Israel Ltd and its parent FIBI Holdings Ltd, Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd, Bank Hapoalim BM, and Caterpillar Inc from the GPFG.

On 25 June, the Council of Ethics wrote to Norges Bank to recommend the exclusion of First International Bank of Israel and FIBI Holdings Ltd from the GPFG, citing an unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious violations of individuals’ rights by providing financial guarantees for construction in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

On 2 July, the Council of Ethics recommended excluding the other companies for similar human rights concerns.

Following these recommendations, the Norges Bank Executive Board decided to exclude all six companies from the GPFG under §4b of the Fund’s Guidelines for Observation and Exclusion, building on Norges Bank Investment Management's (NBIM) earlier divestment of 11 Israeli companies on 12 August.

The board said it had not independently assessed all aspects of the recommendations but considered the evidence sufficient to meet the criteria for exclusion and observation.

Before deciding to exclude a company, Norges Bank considers whether other measures, such as active ownership, might be more appropriate. In this case, however, the board concluded that such measures would not be appropriate.

The disinvestments were announced amid growing scrutiny on GPFG's investments in Israel, after Norway’s Finance Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, cited the “deteriorating situation” in Gaza and the West Bank.

This also sparked a wider Nordic trend of divesting from companies linked to Israeli settlements amid growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza and the occupied territories.

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