Introduction
Banks and banking transactions are a fundamental pillar of the
financial world. However, in order to maintain confidence and
credibility in banks, the protection of customers' secrets is
imperative. In Turkey, this obligation for banks to maintain
secrecy is based on the principle of protecting individuals'
private lives set out by Article 20 of the Constitution.
The protection of customer secrets is guaranteed under the
Criminal Code, the Banking Law and the Central Bank Law. Moreover,
a new draft of the Law on Customer, Trade and Banking Secrets
provides details of such secrets and any exceptions.
Criminal liability
The criminal liability of banks and their employees for any
breaches of confidentiality in relation to customer secrets is
regulated by the Banking Law and the Criminal Code. 'Customer
secrets' are defined in the draft Law on Customer, Trade and
Banking Secrets as "secrets consisting of information and
documents which have been
