A series of scandals has further undermined public confidence in the financial sector, which was already damaged by the role banks played in triggering the economic crisis in 2008. The latest concerns systematic tax evasion allegedly organised and promoted by HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank.Various banks at various times have been investigated and penalised for the manipulation of lending rates (Libor), the artificial fixing of exchange rates (Forex), and money laundering, which is the financial side of international organised crime. Now the issue is “aggressive” tax avoidance, deemed unethical and antisocial, and tax evasion, which is actually illegal. According to leaked documents, the Swiss branch of HSBC allowed many thousands of wealthy clients to deposit large sums of