Investing in weapons means profiting from violence and destruction. We believe money should contribute to a society that promotes people’s quality of life, with human dignity at its core. Financing weapons and armed conflict, for whatever reason, undermines this mission and damages the health of both people and nature.

The latest Don't Bank on the Bomb report "Investing in the Arms Race" found that 301 financial institutions had financing or investment relationships with companies producing nuclear weapons between January 2023 and September 2025, up from 260 in the previous report. Investors held more than $709 billion in shares and bonds in nuclear weapons producers, with nearly $300 billion provided in loans and underwriting. That's a 15% increase in financial institutions involved compared to a year earlier, reversing years of decline. For the first time in years, the number of financial institutions profiting from the arms industry is rising, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions and record military spending. 

Many of the major high street banks in the UK have been found to finance arms and weapons, and reports from organisations including War on Want and Ethical Consumer have documented how several major UK financial institutions finance companies that supply arms and military technology used in the conflict in Palestine, raising serious questions about the banking sector's role in human rights abuses. 

Today, multiple conflicts continue around the world, and so now is a pertinent time to remind you why Triodos Bank refuses to invest in war and weapons, and why we don’t think any financial institutions should.  

Why Triodos will never invest in war and weapons

Conflict causes the deaths of soldiers and civilians and is a major cause of poverty in countries around the world. Food production and security is massively disrupted, and war is responsible for the destruction of infrastructure and cities which stunts economic and cultural development. Even after war ends, it can take many years for a country to recover, both physically and mentally. 

We recognise the geopolitical reality. Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, calls have grown louder for European countries to take greater responsibility for their own security, and defence spending has risen accordingly. We are not naive about this. If a democratic society decides it needs to invest more in defence, that decision rightly belongs to its citizens and the governments they elect. 

But where that money comes from matters. 

Defence is what we consider the ultimate public good. The decision whether, when and how to use arms, and how to fund them, should sit solely with democratically elected governments, subject to robust public oversight and democratic checks and balances. The financing of arms must come from public funds, reinforcing the principle that the use of force is a public responsibility, not a private enterprise. 

There is growing pressure, particularly since the war in Ukraine, to classify the defence sector as 'sustainable' under ESG frameworks, using justifications such as national security. We firmly reject this framing, but not because we deny the need for European security. We reject it because there is no version of a private investor making a profit from goods that exist to cause death and destruction that we consider morally acceptable. 

Private investment in arms also creates incentives that work against the public interest. Investors expect returns, which means demand needs to be sustained over time, and sustained demand for arms requires ongoing conflict. The cost of those expected returns ultimately gets built into the price governments pay, meaning the public ends up funding both the weapons and the profit margins of the people financing them. 

European security can be strengthened in many ways that do not involve financing the arms industry. Investment in energy infrastructure, cross-border rail, the circular economy and reducing dependence on geopolitically sensitive resources all contribute meaningfully to a more secure and resilient Europe. These are the kinds of investments private finance is well placed to support. 

At Triodos, weapons manufacturing has no place in a sustainable financial system. That position has not changed, and the current geopolitical context has only sharpened our reasoning for it.

While some sectors profit short-term from war, the global financial system can suffer due to economic instability, debt, disruption to trade and increasing volatility in global markets. The war in Iran has caused sharp increases in global energy and food prices, and financial markets have also been shaken. 

Furthermore, trading in arms is poorly controlled and lacks transparency, as well as being highly susceptible to corruption. This means that the financial sector has very little insight or influence on what weapons being made are used for. Investment in weapons only really invests in the growth of the arms industry, rather than solving or helping with specific conflicts.  

As technology advances, Triodos has also expressed concern with regard to lethal autonomous weapons, sometimes known as “killer robots”, and recently signed a statement to advocate for international regulation on these weapons that threaten human rights and lives. 

It is good to realise that there are plenty of investments to be made that can strengthen European autonomy and resilience that are not investments in the arms industry. For example, strengthening the cross-border railway connections or expanding the renewable energy sector to decrease our dependence on imported fossil fuels. 
 

What we fund instead

Instead of funding weapons and other harmful practices, Triodos Bank UK uses the money deposited by our customers to finance projects that build a better future. Over 30 years, we've delivered £2.5 billion in lending to projects generating transformative social and environmental impact across the UK.  

As of the end of 2025, our lending portfolio backed 95 clean energy projects, with our share of financing generating enough electricity for 157,000 households, 74 organic farms managing more than 26,000 acres of organic farmland, 138 social housing projects providing accommodation for approximately 11,500 people, and 15 nature-based projects sequestering approximately 11.35 kilo tonnes of CO2. We publish every organisation we lend to on our website because we believe you should always be able to see where your money goes. 

We know that many of our customers chose Triodos precisely because they wanted their money to reflect their values. As one of our customers puts it:

“It’s important that I’m not putting my salary into something I don’t believe in. I oppose arms manufacturing and the use of fossil fuels, for example, so it is contradictory to put my money into banks that support these things. I want to take my little pot away from banks that are doing things that I disagree with and focus it on positive things and making a change in the world.” 
- Georgia, Triodos Customer

That choice matters, and it's one of the most powerful everyday actions anyone can take. 

Money used to support war should instead be funding education, healthcare, climate solutions and nature protection – industries which are working towards a brighter future for everyone.  
 
What can I do? 
 
If this article has made you think about where your money sits, you’re not alone.  
 
One of the most powerful things you can do is find out what your bank funds, and if you don’t like the answer then you can consider moving. Switching to a bank that refuses to finance weapons, fossil fuels and other harmful industries is a tangible values-driven stance.  
 
Ask your friends and family where they bank and why. The more people who understand the connection between their savings and the arms industry, the harder it becomes for the financial sector to treat weapons as just another investment. 
 
Your money is more powerful than you think.