Pax-Bank Investment Criteria

Anlagekriterien der Pax-Bank

Pax-Bank fulfills its particular responsibility as a Christian bank by filtering investments on the
basis of ethical and sustainable criteria. These investment criteria apply to the Pax-Bank’s own assets, the range of funds it offers customers, its asset management services, and its customer deposits.

The ethical and sustainable focus of our banking activities means, in concrete terms, that Pax-Bank, to the best of our knowledge and belief, only invests in companies and countries that make a positive contribution to the principles of justice, peace, and the integrity of creation through their social and environmental conduct.

Pax-Bank employs clearly defined exclusion criteria and a best-in-class approach. This dual
investment filter is the basis for ensuring that your money is invested responsibly and can
therefore make a positive impact.

Your funds are allocated to investments that comply with the ESG (environment, social, governance) requirements applicable to companies and countries.

Companies and countries with a positive effect on people and the environment are the goal of our investments and thus form a basis for portfolios managed by Pax-Bank. This ensures that a contribution is made to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Exclusion Criteria for Companies

E = Environmental Criteria

Nuclear Power

  • Nuclear power plants
  • Core components (5%)
  • Nuclear power (5%)
  • Uranium mining

S = Social Criteria

Armaments and Weapons

  • Cluster bombs
  • Antipersonnel mines
  • Handguns (0%)
  • Nuclear weapons systems
  • Other controversial weapons (biological, chemical etc.)
  • Armaments (3%)

G = Criteria of Good Corporate Governance

Controversial Business Practices

  • Corruption
  • ESG-Controversies (serious, structural)

Fossil Fuels

  • Coal mining (0%)
  • Coal-fired power generation (10%)
  • Crude oil extraction (5%)
  • Turnover with crude oil (10%)
  • Metallurgical coal reserves
  • Oil shale/tar sands (0%)
  • Lack of transformation willingness*

Threat to the protection of the individual

  • Abortion and anti-nidation contraceptives
  • Stem cells
  • Pornography (1,5%)
  • Tobacco (5%)
  • Gambling (5%)

Compliance with International Standards

  • UN Global Compact
  • UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
  • International Labour Standards (ILO)

Animal Welfare

  • Animal testing
  • Factory farming

Endangering the Environment

  • Green genetic engineering (3%)
  • Biodiversity
  • Palm oil

 

Best-in-class Approach

  • No investment in companies that rank among the worst 20 % of an industry according to the “best-in-class approach” based on the MSCI ESG Rating method

Important note:
Our exclusion criteria may allow tolerance limits for low-value lines of business at major corporations. The majority of these companies’ products and services meet our ESG requirements and thus remain investable, particularly for the purpose of diversifying (spreading the risk) the investment universe.

*Companies that show no willingness to switch to less carbon-intensive production methods or products, especially in the coal, oil, gas, building materials, and transportation sectors
 

Exclusion Criteria for Countries

E = Environmental Criteria

  • Nuclear power (> 40% of the national energy mix)
  • Failure to ratify the Paris Agreement
  • Failure to ratify the UN Conventions on Biological Diversity
  • Greenhouse gas intensity (emissions in relation to GDP / exclusion of the worst 20%)

S = Social Criteria

  • Defense budget (spending > 4% of national GDP)
  • Nuclear arsenal
  • Failure to ratify relevant UN conventions about biological and chemical weapons
  • Civil and political liberties
  • Religious freedom
  • Freedom of the press
  • Torture
  • Death penalty

G = Good Governance Criteria

  • High level of corruption (Corruption Perceptions Index value > 40)
  • Money laundering and terrorist financing