'The Banker's Duty of Confidentiality'

Stokes, R ORCID: 0000-0002-1651-3033 (2005) 'The Banker's Duty of Confidentiality'. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

The scheme of doctoral research is concerned with the banker's duty of confidentiality, something traditionally recognized as forming the cornerstone of the banker-client relationship. However, the law relating to banking confidentiality has undergone an active period of reform since the judicial recognition of such a duty. Indeed, the duty (or perhaps more accurately, the exceptions to the duty) has developed through retrospective incremental reforms, facilitated through both judicial decisions and through statute. The aim of the research is to analyse and explore the existing law, looking particularly at the development of the relevant practice and law, and consider whether it is true to suggest confidentiality is the exception rather than the rule. In order to successfully ground the importance of this scheme of research in the modern banking climate, the genesis and early development of the duty of confidentiality shall be analysed, before considering the development of the obligation through the Twentieth Century. Consequently, this study will concentrate upon the establishment of the duty of confidentiality through the decision in Tournier v. National Provincial and Union Bank of England1 , and consider the four heads of exception that Bankes L.J., discussed. The growth of these four heads of exception needs to be analysed, for, as the Jack Committee lamented in their final report, "the last two decades have seen a torrent of new legislation, which has since become a spate in the past few years, requiring or permitting bankers, in a wide range of specified situations, to disclose confidential information in the public interest".2 Since the presentation of the Jack Report this 'spate' has continued, and the scope of the various exceptions to the duty arising from,for example, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended) and the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 will need to be analysed. The thesis will also investigate certain key issues which are currently affecting the scope and nature of the banker's duty of confidentiality, including, the growth of the domestic anti-money laundering regime; the emergence of the criminal confiscation and civil recovery systems and associated investigatory powers and the dawn of the Human Rights Act era coupled with the growth of data protection considerations under the Data Protection Act 1998. These issues, whilst only coming to the fore in recent times, are all likely to play an important role in the future development and direction of the banker's duty of confidentiality, and are as such worthy of academic consideration.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	banking law, banking confidentiality, proceeds of crime, money laundering
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	20 Oct 2023 14:38
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2023 14:59
DOI:	10.17638/03174897
Copyright Statement:	Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis and any accompanying data (where applicable) are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge.
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3174897