Calvin Quek of Greenpeace East Asia ("Green advocacy can help banks shed the spectre of scandals", January 5) calls on large international banks to redeem their blemished image by investing in "green" and low-carbon projects.
This is certainly a worthy endeavour and one that banks should embrace, and it brings up the whole issue of corporate responsibility, which has received little attention in Asia.
Most corporations in Asia, whether publicly traded, government-controlled or in private hands, still operate on a "maximise profit" and "the environment be damned" philosophy. Banking money from the West has poured into Asian stock markets for this very reason, because bigger profits can be made compared with American and European markets where labour unions and environmentalists demand better controls.
Most social evils - whether political corruption, environmental degradation, the arms race, people and goods smuggling, money laundering and tax evasion - are linked to big money and eventually the whole international banking industry.
It's well known that the banking industry in Europe supported the arms race that led to the first world war and its awful consequences. Swiss banks, in particular, with their beloved secrecy, have notoriously supported dictators around the world and even opposed the return of their assets to their victims.
One better way that banking officials can redeem themselves is to stop investing in the arms industry - no more money for making guns, grenades, missiles, nuclear weapons and bullets and their delivery systems. Then we will really find out those who want to help humanity.