BANK SECRECY IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AND ARUBAThere is a duty of confidentiality on banks not to disclose customer information

Bank secrecy rules protect the confidentiality of customer data. Customer data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable customer. Bank secrecy rules apply to all information relating to any banks business or information which the bank obtains in the course of business or contractual relationship.

In the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba there are no separate explicit statutory regulation concerning bank secrecy. However, the Netherlands Antilles and the Aruba Civil Code imply a duty of confidentiality into all contracts between a bank and its customers. In addition, a general contractual duty of care (i.e. a duty to provide services of a proper standard) is also implied from general principles of Netherlands Antilles and Aruba law.

These principles can be said to amount to a duty of confidentiality on banks not to disclose to other bodies, or make public, information about a customer without the customer’s consent. This duty is set aside if mandatory law requires disclosure.

In addition, section 286 of the Penal Code of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba adds a criminal dimension to bank secrecy. An employee, who discloses data to third parties outside the scope of his or her duty, will possibly have committed a criminal offence (breach of professional secrecy). In general, the transfer and filtering of information appears not to constitute a breach hereof.

Karel Frielink

Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner