From time to time we are troubled by reports of the conduct of persons employed as debt collectors by money-lenders and others in a similar line of business. A recent example is provided by a Filipino domestic helper who has been in Hong Kong since 1978, and who last May was serving her fifth two-year contract with her third employer. She had stood surety for a friend in a loan from one of these firms. On May 13, she lost her job because persons claiming to represent the lender went to her employer's flat at 10 pm, which was naturally disturbing to the employer. Is there no code of ethics? If not, there ought to be. A bank, for example, would not dare to disclose to a third party without the customer's authority anything as to the customer's financial position, because bankers are bound by confidentiality. Should not these firms be bound by a similar rule? A code of ethics might place limits preventing approaches at the uncivilised hour of 10 pm. Of course we realise that self-interest might be expected to act as a constraint on uncivilised conduct such as we have briefly described. It is, after all, stupid for the lender to do anything that might jeopardise the ability of the borrower (or in this case the surety) to repay the loan. Unfortunately such stupidity is not uncommon, so clearly self-interest is an inadequate brake in the practice. Is anyone in the financial services sector doing anything about a code of ethics? We should be glad to hear from them. JOVITA O. LEANO Trustee United Migrant Workers Interim Trust
