Read the Initial Assessment published by the NCP concerning UBS on 28 August 2024: English
Read the Final Statement published by the NCP concerning SNB on 21 October 2024: English
On 16 January 2024, BankTrack, Worth Rises, and the Coalition for Immigrant Freedom, three NGOs, submitted a specific instance to the Swiss and UK NCPs alleging that Swiss National Bank (SNB), UBS, HSBC, and Barclays, had not observed the General Policies (Chapter II), Human Rights (Chapter IV), and Employment and Industrial Relations (Chapter V) provisions of the Guidelines. Specifically, the submitters alleged insufficient due diligence by the four banks in relation to possible investments in two US companies (CoreCivic and GEO Group facilities). The companies operate private prisons in the USA where, according to the submitting NGOs, human rights violations (including forced labour) occur.
The NCPs of Switzerland and the United Kingdom coordinated and decided that the Swiss NCP would lead on handling the cases involving SNB and UBS and the United Kingdom would handle the cases involving HSBC and Barclays.
On 21 October 2024, the Swiss NCP published a final statement concerning the specific instance as it related to SNB. The NCP decided not to accept the specific instance as SNB could not be considered a multinational enterprise under the scope of the Guidelines.
On 28 August 2024, the Swiss NCP published an initial assessment concerning the specific instance as it related to UBS. The NCP decided that the issues raised warranted further examination. The NCP will move to make an offer of good offices.