In 2050 democracy blossomed all around the world partly because, some years back, bankers in the west and elsewhere were stopped from accepting deposits from dodgy rulers. It was a big sacrifice by the banks and they resisted it fiercely, especially in Switzerland. After all these deposits made up a large chunk of bank balance sheets. Tyrants and dictators are driven by many things; power, of course and sex but amassing an ill-gotten fortune was a regular feature.
These kleptocracies could never become democracies (accountability, rule of law, free media) while their rulers were addicted to siphoning large sums of public money off to private accounts. But try keeping billions under the bed. These people stole on such a scale that they were the only robbers who actually needed a bank to look after their swag.
Yours, K
Postcard image info
Holbein's portrait of Jakob Meyer, banker. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Jakob_Meyer%2C_by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.jpg/458px-Jakob_Meyer%2C_by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.jpg
Author: Krzysztof Bobinski