Royal Bank of Canada’s (RY.TO) chief executive officer Dave McKay said that financial services should be a “force for good” in his prepared remarks at the bank’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, possibly in reaction to recent reports suggesting that RBC has opened hundreds of offshore accounts for clients.

“If you've read Michael Lewis’s best-selling book Flash Boys, in which RBC played a central and very positive role, you’re among the millions who now appreciate how Financial Services can and should be a force for good,” Mr. McKay said.

The remarks follow a week in which leaks from a Panama-based law firm revealed the murky world of offshore tax havens, including wealthy and powerful individuals who use such havens and the financial firms that set them up.

RBC was one institution mentioned in the leaks. The documents - which were leaked to various news outlets - mention RBC’s use of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca to set up 370 offshore companies for clients.

While there is nothing necessarily illegal about the activities, they have cast a harsh light on offshore havens.

In his remarks, he also said that Americans have responded positively to RBC’s recent acquisition of City National Bank, the Los Angeles-based private and commercial bank, largely because of RBC’s reputation.

“Since buying City National, we continue to hear from Americans who want to take advantage of RBC’s global reach and expertise, our range of financial products, our strong balance sheet – and our reputation as a principled organization.

Mr. McKay’s speech addressed the potential impact on low oil prices, which have weighed on investor sentiment toward Canadian banks and raised concerns about the health of the Canadian economy.

He reiterated that loans to the oil and gas sector represent just 1.6 per cent of the bank’s total loan book and that money set aside to cover bad loans has merely risen in line with historic norms.

“We also believe the significant gains that oil markets have made since January will hold, given that the U.S. economy continues to grow, albeit slowly,” Mr. McKay said.

“Here in Canada, the lower dollar has done its job, with exports and investments now on the rise.”