S/L/189. In view of the breadth of the exceptions to the duty of confidentiality owed by a bank to its customer, is the decision in Tournier outdated and might it be more accurate to say that it is the duty of confidentiality which is now the exception rather than the rule?

The paper examines the duty of confidentiality (DoC) describing the motivations behind it and reviewing academic literature on banking confidentiality. The discussion centres around the need to maintain the balance between transparency through the dissemination of information, on the one hand, and respect for the customer's DoC, on the other hand. It is argued whether the DoC in modern banking should be considered a rule or an exception from the rule. References are made to the case of Tournier and the qualifications set out to the DoC, the issues of money laundering, disclosures of credit information, etc.