The following extract comes from an article entitled Big banks defend coal loans, by Peter Kerr and Neil Chenoweth (Australian Financial Review, 23 November 2010, p. 6).

Financial institutions providing $150 million in loans to Verve Energy for the companys project to, with Inalco, recommission Western Australias Muja coal-fired power station, have denied trying to hide their involvement. Verve chief executive Shirley Int Veld had said at least one of its lenders had required the company to not disclose its involvement. That lender was revealed as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group on the weekend, with National Australia Bank and GE Capital also revealed as involved yesterday. ANZ recently topped the Dow Jones Sustainability Index as the best bank on sustainable issues globally, leading Greenpeace to yesterday label the bank as hypocritical. A spokesperson for ANZ said we recognise the importance of coal in Australias energy security while transitioning to a lower carbon future. Westpac Banking Corporation last week said it would avoid providing funding to coal-fired power stations.

Having read the above extract, answer the following questions:

(a) With the concept of the social contract in mind, why would banks prefer not to disclose information about funding coal-fired power plants?

(b) Do you think that the perceived legitimacy of the banks would be impacted by the information provided in the article?

(c) How do you think the banks would respond to the information provided within the article?