Dirty Profits 12: Yielding to Autocracy – the repressive government bond ties of European banks
Fair Finance Germany lead member Facing Finance has published the twelfth edition of its Dirty Profits report: Yielding to Autocracy – the repressive government bond ties of European banks.
Globally, democratic structures are increasingly under pressure, as seen in the USA or Hungary, which are undergoing a massive process of democratic decline. In 2023 alone, 71 percent of the world’s population lived under autocratic governance. To maintain their power apparatus and repressive systems, autocracies rely on capital, which they also obtain in the form of government bonds through banks and asset managers.
This analysis reveals clear financial entanglements and associated responsibilities: Between 2022 and 2024, the major European banks BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Société Générale, and UBS helped the autocracies of the United Arab Emirates, China, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia raise more than 50 billion US dollars through government bonds. Particularly striking is the close relationship between HSBC and Saudi Arabia: over 40 billion US dollars flowed into the country during this period.
During the same period, the European financial institutions AXA, BNP Paribas, Groupe BPCE, Legal & General, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank/DWS, UBS, HSBC, and Allianz invested nearly 10 billion US dollars in government bonds of the autocracies United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Nigeria, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and China. The largest amount comes from Allianz, with nearly 4 billion US dollars.
The report sheds light on a highly underrepresented and untransparent intersection of government bonds, the influence of financial institutions, and human rights, and highlights the urgent need for the financial sector to take on democratic responsibility.
Find out more here.
