Risk Watch with Alberta Quarcoopome: Breaching the banker’s duty of confidentiality (2)

Kudos to Sharon Aryee, Human Resource officer of Services Integrity Savings and Loans. (SISL)

As I usually do, I celebrate front liners who give me an awesome experience when I come into contact with them. Our last lap of our training journey was with staff of SISL. This year, apart from James Kennedy Adzie of Zenith Bank, Sharon Aryee has been one of my best training coordinators across all my touch-points in the bank. Some years ago, we thought that it is only the banking hall staff that are expected to give great service delivery. Now we know that all staff are to exhibit this to enable clients have a feel good experience from every encounter. From a welcoming disposition, quick responses on email-and whats-ups, coordinating arrangements for participants’ and facilitators’ comfort, facilitating prompt payments, monitoring and following up of assignments given to the participants, Sharon made our training experience really memorable. Please continue the good work as you exhibit the core values of SISL, since it is the only bank that combines military banking with civilian banking. More grease to your elbows.

Last week, I highlighted some occurrences in banking that are breaching our duty of confidentiality to our customers. We looked at the four exceptions under the Tournier rule which allows bankers to divulge information. Despite this, some bankers unknowingly breach this rule. Tge following examples are extracts from my third book: THE MODERN BRANCH MANAGER’S COMPANION.

Here are some examples:

1. The bank’s demand notice to a defaulting customer to pay his debt or risk legal action has been directed to a wrong addressee! The account holder is a prominent Businessman/Politician.
2. Leaving copies of account opening documents in the photocopier or scanner overnight instead of shredding them. (Examples are passports, Voter IDs, Driving licences, Business Registration documents, etc) Have any of these fallen into the wrong hands and duplicated in full colour and used for fraudulent purposes?
3. With a click of the mouse, you have inadvertently emailed to your customer an attachment meant for another customer! This is obviously a misdirected email!

 

4. Loudly discussing a customer’s business transactions at the front desk in full view and hearing of other customers waiting in the banking hall. For example, he is travelling that night and needs to purchase $55,000 cash to carry along. Other clients sitting and watching can follow him after he has been served, or track him to his house for the usual “Midnight Visitation”, sometimes leaving him dead! BE CAREFUL as you owe a duty of care to your customers, apart from the duty of secrecy. In the digital banking world, funds are stolen from customers’ digital wallets, which can be used worldwide.
5. Not identifying a customer before giving out account information. Sometimes you may be under pressure. There are a few stories of identical twins playing pranks on bankers, impersonating each other!
6. In some remote branches with many illiterate customers, where some customers still use analogue phones, some Tellers mention customer’s name and balance across the counter, within the hearing of third parties. Even if the customer asks you to shout it out, there are more professional ways of doing so.
7. Handing out information to a “Known Agent” for delivery to a customer, without confirming that it has the consent of the account holder. About eight years ago, a known agent of a key customer of a bank defrauded his employer, who was a middle-aged illiterate and shrewd business woman. This agent was signing and even negotiated loan facilities for the customer! This agent had been making the daily deposits in the bank, collecting all bank correspondence and statement of accounts of the account holder. Mr X had held himself out as the “Accountant” and over the decades, had warmed his way into the hearts of the bank staff. Unfortunately, there was no documentary proof sighted of a power of attorney or any written document from the account holder to that effect. In court, it became an embarrassment for the bank. This is how far the relationship can go if bankers assume all is normal.
8. Not confirming and checking a customer’s credentials if the voice on the telephone is unrecognizable. Instead of relying on a smart phone to access account information, some customers continue to call the front desk or other staff. It is imperative that certain bio-data is assessed from the system (eg. his address, approximate balance, last cheque issued, etc.) before giving out information on the phone. Some years ago, before internet banking was introduced, a deep male voice called me to get the balance on an account. Before then, I needed to do my own KYC to ensure I was talking to the right person. Lo and behold, the account name was for a lady, who happened to be the man’s wife. He admitted it but felt he had the right to know his wife’s balance! Spouses should be gently advised to avoid bringing their family rights and responsibilities to the bank. In this case, the bank would have been obliged to give the account balance if it was with the wife’s consent.
9. Providing customer with debit or credit cards – but mistakenly linking the cards to someone else’s account, causing a data entry error. The wrong beneficiary can empty the account immediately if he/she finds out, especially through the bank’s ‘SMS’ banking alerts!
10. Out of pity, you divulge bank balances to surviving children of your customer who have no Letters of Administration.

On this note, let me stress a practical example of how some banks handle an insignificant credit balance of a deceased sole proprietor. Where the value of the estate is small, ie where the balance of the deceased’s account is less than GH¢50.00 (or as the bank’s internal policy directs) the balance can be released to a near relative, provided:

• The relative has been identified and the bank has had a satisfactory report on the relative.
• The bank has seen the death certificate. In such cases, the bank will rely on an affidavit sworn before a competent commissioner of oath by the known relative.
• In all this, get your legal department involved.

11. A beneficiary of a cheque overhears the Teller and her Supervisor at the back office discussing the unhealthy operation of the account holder’s account which is severely overdrawn. The beneficiary, who happens to be the ex-wife of the customer, returns to him with anger, throws the “bounced” cheque at him, sparking an argument and taunts about his “unhealthy” banking transactions. The customer is embarrassed and threatens to close his account.
12. Three salary workers enter the bank manager’s office to discuss the possibility of a salary advance against their pay voucher which is covered by their company’s cheque awaiting maturity. The bank manager checks the pay advices and discusses each applicant’s loan details in the presence of the other. He did not caution them about their implied consent in coming together in his office to discuss their individual banking needs. Unknowingly their salaries are different. Eventually one of them returns to the Financial Controller at his office demanding to know the reason for his salary being lower than his colleagues! The Financial Controller calls the bank manager to know what happened! You can guess the outcome!
13. On one of your loan recovery exercises, you were unable to meet your defaulting customer in his home. You inform his wife, who is not a Director of the Company, about the husband’s loan defaults. His wife is shocked at the revelations and threatens his husband with divorce!
14. How do you serve customers who deposit or withdraw large volumes of cash across the counter? In this day and age, this is a No! No! Imagine a teller paying GHC500,000 across the counter in the full view of other customers! We cannot rule out the risk of divulging this transaction by others both internal and external; people lurking around to follow cars with big cash in their car boots, taking down the car registration numbers and even following them to their homes and offices to pay them nocturnal visits later! This is the reason why large cash withdrawals should be avoided. In the same vein, customers should encourage their clients to make payments directly to banks or through internet banking facilities or mobile money. Save a life and save a customer today.

As a manager, you must ensure that all these inadvertent disclosures are not due to ignorance by some staff. Sharing experiences on the basic banking principles is a must. When you are confronted with a dilemma on secrecy, just shake yourself out of the confusion, do a quick check and remember the “Tournier” Case. Ask yourself, is it falling within the Tournier Principles? If yes, fine. If no, keep quiet and when you are not sure, refer to your seniors or to your Legal Department.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alberta Quarcoopome is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, and CEO of ALKAN Business Consult Ltd. She is the Author of Three books: “The 21^st Century Bank Teller: A Strategic Partner” and “My Front Desk Experience: A Young Banker’s Story” and “The Modern Branch manager’s Companion”. She uses her experience and practical case studies, training young bankers in operational risk management, sales, customer service, banking operations and fraud.

CONTACT

Website www.alkanbiz.com

 

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