| ING one step forward in ranking Netwerk Vlaanderen |
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 ING has in the past year adjusted its policy concerning investments in the weapon industry. Now ING can make one step forward in the Netwerk’s ethical ranking. Thanks to the efforts made by ING, the risk of harmful investments for clients of this bank is no longer ‘very high’ but ‘high’.ING’s policy now implies clear and concrete criteria for investments in weapon industry. The bank excludes producers of controversial weapons like cluster munitions and weapons with depleted uranium , does no longer finance companies providing weapons to countries where they are used for repression, nor makes exceptions for companies who produce controversial weapons as a side activity ‘only’. Clearness about how ING applicates the policyhas improved as well: ING uses an exclusion list of companies that are not in line with its policy No big steps made in banks’ policies yet “We congratulate ING with their improved policy,” says Esther Vandenbroucke, campaigner at Netwerk Vlaanderen, “it proves that banks can in fact make a responsible choice about what to do with their clients’ money. We encourage ING to extend the ethical criteria to other activities. The other banks active in Belgium have to make these efforts as well: up to this point no large bank has taken sufficient notice of the impacts of investments on the environment, labour rights, or the victims of dictatorial regimes.” Today Netwerk Vlaanderen launches an update of its ranking. Deutsche Bank as well can move up one category. The risk of harmful investments for clients of Deutsche Bank is no longer ‘extremely high’, but ‘very high’. The risk of harmful investments with ING as a whole is still qualified by Netwerk Vlaanderen as ‘high’. ING lacks a thorough policy to avoid investments that threaten the environment, labour rights or democracy. Like ING and Deutsche Bank, AXA, Citibank, KBC, Dexia, Fortis, BNP Paribas and Triodos are included in the ranking. Bank secrets updated Since 2005, Netwerk Vlaanderen campaigns against investments in weapons, violations of human rights and environmental abuse. The website Banksecrets.eu shows the investments of 16 well-known banks in harmful projects. The site was today elaborated with cases of AXA, Dexia and KBC as well as translated into Dutch. 
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