5.4 Duty of Confidentiality of Bank about Its Customers

5.4.1 Nature and Justification of Confidentiality The customer's affairs are confidential. The classic statement of the duty's scope is the English case Tournier v. National Provincial and Union Bank of England (1924) (studied by name as the leading authority), which recognized the duty as implied in the banker-customer contract. Justification: trust — the customer must tell the bank everything; the bank must not use or reveal it. 5.4.2 Customer's Consent Disclosure is lawful when the customer consents — express, implied, or by necessary implication from the transaction's nature (e.g., a reference the customer requests). 5.4.3 Exceptions to the Rule of Confidentiality 1. Compulsion of law — court orders, statutory duties (including disclosures under tax legislation and the Asset (Money) Laundering Prevention Act, 2064 suspicious-transaction reporting). 2. Public duty — where a serious crime or public danger requires disclosure. 3. The bank's own interest — defending an action or claiming its dues (disclosing only as needed). 4. Where disclosure is made with the customer's consent (above).