The limits and exceptions of the banks’ secrecy : a comparative analytical legal study

Abstract EN

Banking secrecy is the obligation placed on the banks to preserve the economic, financial and personal issues related to customers and other persons, even to a lesser extent, which may have fallen into their work during the exercise of their professions or in the course of this practice, while acknowledging that there is evidence to preserve secrecy in the interest of these customers.

The research aims to present the concepts of bank secrecy, to draw the scope of this commitment and the extent it occupies in banking dealings with customers by setting a set of determinants, and to highlight the conditions that necessary for the implementation.

The research will follow the descriptive analytical and comparative methodology.

The research obtain many results such as: The researcher also support the Iraqi legislator’s position on some issues related to his regulation of banking secrecy in the Iraqi Banking Law No.

94 of 2004, including his position in regulating issues related to the exchange of customer information between banks in order to conduct credit operations and grant loans on sound grounds, provided that such exchange is restricted in the narrowest possible range so that this does not involve weakening such commitment, the position of the legislator regarding his preference for the public interest over the private interest, which has been evident in more than one place, including the status of the exception related to providing information when there is a suspicion that some of the funds that are used in support of terrorist operations, given the current security situation in Iraq, where this ruling finds great support and blessing.

The researcher recommended the following: urging the legislator to organize the issue of banking secrecy, as it is required, and there should a looking ahead to a new stage in which we intend to encourage investment and push its wheels to put in place such effective and important texts in achieving that goal.