UK banks financing cluster-bomb industry

British high-street banks, including two institutions that were bailed out by taxpayers, are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in companies that manufacture cluster bombs, despite a growing global ban outlawing the production and trade of the weapons, UK daily (The Independent) reported Tuesday. The Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and HSBC have all provided funding to the makers of cluster bombs, even as international opinion turns against a weapons system that is inherently indiscriminate and routinely maims or kills civilians, the paper said. One year ago this month, Britain became an active participant in the Convention on Cluster Munitions, a global treaty that bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs. To date, 108 countries have signed the treaty, which also forbids parties from assisting in the production of cluster weapons. Yet there has been no attempt by the Coalition Government to rein in banks and investment funds that continue to finance companies known to manufacture the weapons. Using a loophole in the legislation, financial institutions can continue to back cluster-arms manufacturers as long as they don''t invest in the bombs directly. The loophole has prompted Amnesty International to launch a national campaign calling on the Government to legislate against any indirect investment in cluster weapons