Home Complaints database BankTrack et al., vs. Swiss National Bank, UBS Group, Barclays, and HSBC
Complaint

BankTrack et al., vs. Swiss National Bank, UBS Group, Barclays, and HSBC

Four Swiss and UK banks’ links to human right impacts through their investments in US private prison operators

Date filed
16 January 2024
Keywords
Countries of harm
Current status
Rejected
Sector
NCP

Allegations

On 16 January 2024, three civil society organisations, BankTrack, the Coalition for Immigrant Freedom, and Worth Rises, filed complaints against Swiss based-banks UBS and Swiss National Bank and US-based banks Barclays and HSBC to the Swiss and UK NCPs, respectively. The complaints focus on the banks’ direct linkages to human rights harms taking place in US private prisons operated by CoreCivic and GEO Group, in which the banks invest. The complainants allege that the banks have not carried out adequate human rights due diligence with respect to their investments and that they have not sought ways to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts to which they are directly linked. The complainants are seeking increased disclosure and transparency as well as for due diligence to be conducted by the banks, including for the banks to exercise their leverage to mitigate impacts and potentially divest if impacts are not satisfactorily addressed.

The complaint refers to 2021 guidance issued by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR), which confirmed banks’ responsibilities regarding the impacts of companies in which they hold shares on behalf of clients. The UN OHCHR’s guidance was sought in relation to a previous NCP complaint filed by Society for Threatened Peoples against UBS Group.

The complaint is filed under both the 2011 and 2023 versions of the OECD Guidelines in relation to the banks’ operations both prior to and continuing after the update of the text in June 2023.

Relevant OECD Guidelines

Outcome

On 21 October 2024, the Swiss NCP rejected the complaint against Swiss National Bank (SNB) in its initial assessment. The NCP concluded that SNB was not a multinational enterprise according to the OECD Guidelines. The OECD Guidelines do not define ‘multinational enterprise’, but state that “the international nature of an enterprise’s structure or activities and its commercial form, purpose, or activities are main factors to consider in this regard” (Chapter I, paragraph 4). The Swiss NCP based its decision on SNB’s “public mandate to conduct the monetary policy of Switzerland, to ensure price stability in Switzerland and to serve the interests of the country as a whole.” The NCP also considered that while SNB’s ‘commercial form, purpose, or activities’ “may entail commercial risks, generate a profit and may represent a significant source of revenue for SNB, they are not used for business purposes, as the overall purpose of the SNB is one of public interest and thus of non-commercial nature. SNB’s financial assets have a monetary policy function and their management is thus strictly subordinated to monetary requirements.” According to the NCP, SNB’s asset management activities were ancillary to its policy task of conducting Swiss monetary policy.

More details

Defendant
Company in violation
Other companies involved
Complainants
Affected people
Other NCP's where the complaint was filed
Date rejected / concluded
24 October 2024

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