Zurich: Credit Suisse Group, whose investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) faces legal scrutiny in the U.S. over its dealings with investors, published on Friday a report underscoring aims to conduct ethical business. The report was published a week before CS’s annual meeting on May 31, where Swiss shareholders are expected to grill CS’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lukas Muehlemann about what some see as a lax approach to legal and compliance issues at the group which includes Switzerland’s second-largest bank. Muehlemann told reporters on Friday the report was not timed to deflect such criticism, but added with regard to the U.S. investigations that "one can only say, mistakes can happen. What is important is how we deal with them". The extensive report covered all aspects of CS’s business, including treatment of workers made redundant. CSFB has been forced to cut staff amid global weakness in investment banking. Swiss banks are increasingly seeking the moral high ground after a some high-profile public relations debacles. In 2000, CS and larger rival UBS AG put up the bulk of a $1.25 billion settlement to put an end to allegations that they stole money from Holocaust victims. Swiss banks are also cracking down on money launderers as the country faces growing pressure to loosen bank secrecy laws. CS says ethical behaviour must pay off, however. "Everything we are doing must be related to business," said Bernd Schanzenbaecher, vice president of CS’s "product ecology" unit at the group. CS’s report for example noted the group gave no direct financing to China’s controversial Three Gorges dam project. With a view to use of natural resources, CS said its international business used an astounding 26,000 sheets of copy paper annually per worker. But it said this was good compared to general norms and officials said the copier output was unrelated to voluminous paperwork typically needed in any legal cases.