Banking Law Confidentiality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Banking uprightness Confidentiality - Essay ExampleThis rule was primarily established to nurture customers right to privacy and enhance their security.It should be noted, however, that the bankers calling of confidentiality is not absolute or impenetrable. In the position Common Law, safeguards, thru the Tournier principles, are provided in assemble to ensure that obstruction of justice is forestalled. Based on the strip of Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England (1924), a bank can legally snitch study about its customer, conditions of which are as follows (The bankers duty of confidentiality to the customer)Many argue that client confidentiality has many a(prenominal) loopholes and impedes investigation conducted by the police and other public bodies since the right of these administrative agencies to order disclosure is limited. This duty is also criticized for acting as a cloak for criminal activities (Cranston).Overriding client confidentiality without court order can only be obtained for the purpose of detection of crime or the apprehension or criminal prosecution of offenders. The standard procedure for obtaining information at a lower place this directive is through a letter addressed to the banks dominance of Information. Should the Controller of Information deem that the grounds mentioned are unsatisfactory then the bank is not induce to disclose information about its customer (Legal Update).However, this does not provide a lovesome justification as to how the duty of confidentiality as a form of interference in pursuing administrative tasks. This is because a court order may be obtained for the required disclosure. Provided that the local court, in view of the correspondence of probabilities, deems that a criminal offence has been committed, then a court order is issued for the release of bank information (Cotterill).This procedure is also a form of check on the potential abuses of power by police, investigators, restr ictive agencies and other government officials. This has happened previously in Switzerland during the Nazi regime. Nazi agents bribed bank employees to violate the confidentiality of bank clients. When the identities of depositors were revealed, the agents demanded their assets under duress. The agents threatened that the depositors relatives in Germany would be reprehended (Cranston). To prevent this and other forms of abuse of power and corrupt practices from affecting the banking trunk and compromise the security and rights of clients, consent from the judiciary through the release of court orders is required. Furthermore, the English Common Law recognizes that disclosure of client information, where the Tournier principles do not apply, may result in serious losses specifically if the customer is running a business. This is because business information is deemed to be commercially sensitive based on its market value (Cranston). It may also cause distress, embarrassment or inco nvenience of customers. In much(prenominal)