WHAT WAS CLAIMED
BlackRock owns all of Australia's big four banks.
OUR VERDICT
False. BlackRock is an investor in the big four banks but it does not own them.
AAP FACTCHECK - Australia's big four banks are not owned by the investment company BlackRock, contrary to a viral social media claim.
While BlackRock owns shares in Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ, this does not equate to ownership, an expert told AAP FactCheck.
The claim appears in a Facebook post referencing the anti-Semitic trope that Jewish people control banking institutions and the wider economy.
"JEWISH CEO OF AUSTRALIA'S BANKS !," the post's caption reads.
"COMMONWEALTH BANK SOLD TO JEWISH CEO OF BLACKROCK, LARRY FINK. BLACKROCK NOW OWN ALL OF AUSTRALIA'S BIG FOUR BANKS!"
BlackRock is a US-based investment company managing clients' money, which includes investing in various businesses to generate a return.
The company's co-founder and CEO Larry Fink was raised in a Jewish family and is often the target of anti-Semitism.
Lorenzo Casavecchia, an expert in finance at UTS Business School, told AAP FactCheck that BlackRock is a minority shareholder in all four banks, but this does not equate to ownership.
It currently holds 6.36 per cent of issued capital in Commonwealth Bank, 6.50 per cent in Westpac, 5.81 per cent in NAB, and 5.29 per cent in ANZ (under different BlackRock holding companies).
Associate Professor Casavecchia explained that in Australian corporate law and prudential regulation, "control" usually means 20 per cent or more of the voting shares.
Above that, the Treasurer must approve the holding under the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998, he said.
Assoc Prof Casavecchia says this means BlackRock is "nowhere near" a controlling or "ownership" position.
"Day-to-day management remains with the board and executives elected by all shareholders," he said.
He added investment firms like BlackRock can wield some influence with share ownership in the single digits, particularly on ordinary vote resolutions (which pass with more than 50 per cent) though such influence is greatly reduced for special resolutions (which require 75 per cent).
Other major investment companies such as Vanguard and State Street also own minority shareholdings in the four banks.
"BlackRock is a large but minority shareholder in all the big-four banks," Assoc Prof Casavecchia said.
"Its positions confer influence proportional to about six per cent of the vote, nowhere near outright 'ownership' or control of any Australian bank."
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