Why does the GAA remain partnered with Allianz?
The GAA has faced consistent calls to end its relationship with Allianz after the insurer was named in a report detailing the corporate entities which have aided Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the genocide of Palestinians.
Ceist? is asking why the GAA remain partnered with Allianz despite the insurer's complicity in the genocide in Gaza?
The GAA has faced consistent calls to end its relationship with the German financial services and insurance company after Allianz was named in a report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese
Ms Albanese's report detailed the corporate entities which have aided Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the genocide of Palestinians.
Israel's military budget expanded significantly between 2022 and 2024 due to its military assault on Gaza, resulting in a public budget deficit of 6.8 per cent. To offset this, Israel increased its bond issuance, with financial institutions such as Vanguard and Blackrock purchasing millions of dollars worth of bonds.
Ms Albanese's report found that Allianz's asset management subsidiary, PIMCO, purchased nearly $1 billion of these bonds used to to fund the genocide in Gaza.
The report also found that Allianz "invest large sums in shares and bonds implicated in the occupation and genocide, partly as capital reserves for policyholder claims and regulatory requirements, but primarily to generate returns. Allianz holds at least $7.3 billion."
Allianz are the current sponsors of the GAA's National Hurling and Football leagues and are also the insurer of the GAA's stadiums and more than 2,200 clubs.
The GAA's Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) recommended that the GAA continue their 30-year association with Allianz in December, before the start of the current National Leagues.
The EIC says the GAA's relationship is solely with Allianz plc, the Irish operating entity and that Allianz plc "is not involved with the Israeli Defence forces or other entities involved in the war in Gaza"
Allianz plc is owned by Allianz SE, the parent company of PIMCO, the asset management body which purchased nearly $1 billion in Israeli bonds.
Is a single layer of corporate separation enough to distance Allianz plc from the actions of its parent company and its other subsidiaries?
For now, the GAA appears content with this single degree of separation from complicity in Genocide and Allianz will remain as sponsor of the National Leagues until at least 2030.
The EIC says "Allianz has, for many years, been an excellent sponsorship partner of the GAA and employs approximately 800 people in Ireland. The GAA is legally and ethically bound to honour its contracts."