Duty of Confidentiality: Still an Active Duty Imposed on the Banks

Abstract

Duty of confidentiality originated from the Tournier case requires the banks to protect interests and confidences of their customers. However, powered by the development of modern banking business, increasingly statutory exemptions to disclose information about the customers seem to put this duty in an unimportant place. However, in essence, the disclosure does not completely override the duty of confidentiality, instead it further burdens the bank and third parties to reasonably exercise the disclosure. Also, the Tournier case has been reaffirmed in some contemporary legal documents. Therefore, though the duty of confidentiality has been eroded due to the changing society, it is still a significant duty that the bank should obey.