Banking Secrecy and Legal Liability for its Disclosure

Protection of banking secrecy is one of the key aspects of the financial stability of the state, ensuring citizens’ trust in the banking system. In civil law, banking secrecy is considered as an element of protecting privacy and protecting property rights, which are enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and the Civil Code of Ukraine. However, in the context of combating financial crimes and corruption, the state is forced to look for mechanisms to control financial flows, which sometimes requires the disclosure of banking information. The traditional preservation of absolute confidentiality of banking data no longer always meets modern challenges, as it can be used to conceal illegal activities. Banking secrecy is an important element of financial stability and protecting the rights of bank clients, as it guarantees the confidentiality of their financial transactions. At the same time, the need for state control in the field of preventing financial crimes, money laundering and corruption raises the question of the possibility of disclosing banking information. This creates a legal and ethical dilemma: how to ensure a balance between the right of citizens to privacy and the need for the state to control financial flows for the public good. Civil law, which protects personal and proprietary information, recognizes the importance of banking secrecy, but allows for its limitations in exceptional cases. The main challenge is to create legal mechanisms that would allow the state to effectively exercise financial control without violating the rights of bona fide bank customers. Improving legislation should contribute to the transparency of the financial system and strengthening citizens’ trust in banks, while ensuring an appropriate level of protection of their personal data. Analysis of banking secrecy in Ukraine in the context of civil law makes it possible to determine the balance between the protection of financial confidentiality and the need for state control.