OPINION: The word “woke” originated in African-American communities in the 1960s to describe a person’s enlightened awareness of social and racial issues in the civil rights era. Strange then, that the slang term has been used to bash New Zealand’s state-owned lender Kiwibank in recent weeks. New Zealand First MP and associate minister for state-owned enterprises Shane Jones has lashed out at Kiwibank’s plans to withhold banking services from the fossil fuel, military-grade weapons, synthetic drugs, palm oil, predatory lending, casino, and tobacco industries under its Responsible Business Banking strategy. “The bank that goes woke may end up broke, so hop down out of your sermonising and join the rest of the world,” Jones told RNZ last month. READ MORE:Woke, broke, or master stroke: Kiwibank’s new responsible business policyShane Jones: Kiwibank board has gone bonkersCoronavirus: Billion-dollar-profit banks must show they care about NZ in bad times, Shane Jones says The comment certainly made for a snappy soundbite. But Jones’s criticism of the lender doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. While Kiwibank’s new responsible policy may seem “woke” or “PC-gone mad” to some, it makes sense for lenders to pursue a more ethical stance in 2020. The state-backed bank is, in fact,… Read full this story
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