The banker will provide financial assistance to the client in accordance with their required needs illustrate and explain

Introduction

A banker is an individual who advises their clients with regard to financial matters. Duties concerning savings, loans, taxes, investments, and securities are all within the job realm of a banker. The banker will provide financial assistance to the client in accordance with their required needs. In England, the definition of a “bank ‘’or “banker” has caused considerable confusion as Parliament has never defined those terms. In Malaysia, although the terms are defined in the Banking Act, 1973[1] confusion however arises over what the authorities concern. it to mean since in Malaysia, whether a body is a. bank or not, depends on whether or not it has been granted a banking license from the Minister.

In Malaysia, the words ‘banker’ and ‘bank’ are used quite loosely. Quite often employees of banks are described as ‘bankers’. Hart has described a bank and a banker as “a person or company carrying on the business of receiving moneys, and collecting drafts for customers subject to the obligation of honoring cheques drawn upon them from time to time by the customer to the extent of the amounts available on their current accounts.”[2]

The leading case supporting this view is Re Sheilds Estate[3] . Here, one laberto carried on several classes of business, stock-broking, agency and money broking, including some banking business. The Court held that banking was not his chief business but was only ancillary to it and, therefore, he was not a banker.

 Responsibilities of a Banker

A banker has numerous general responsibilities which go along with their daily job duties. The banker is responsible for assessing the client’s financial standing and offering bank programs in accordance with that financial standing. The role of a banker is one filled with multiple duties and responsibilities. Bankers come in many different forms and each one is unique in their own specific way. Some of these individuals work for large corporate conglomerates while others work for small town financial institutions. The roles and duties of each banker will vary amongst the individuals and each one has their own set agenda in their role as banker.[4] It is important to discuss the general responsibilities and specific duties concomitant with that of a banker to learn more about the profession and determine if this is a profession to pursue or not.

Specific duties of a banker

The overall duty of a banker is to help clients with their financial questions and needs. In order to do so, the banker must correspond with the client and determine what type of banking help they are looking for. The banker can meet with the bank patrons in person or speak with them over the phone. The banker will most likely have numerous meetings with the client to fulfill their desired requests.[5]

The banker must also review a client’s financial history and current standing to determine if their desired financial needs can be met. The banker will also inform them the best way to meet their financial goals through the banking institution.[6]

A banker will have to deal with various types of financial transactions. One specific duty of the banker may entail arranging student loans for clients. Many financial institutions offer student loans as a way for clients to pay for their college education or that of their children. The banker will present the loans which they offer to students, review the individual’s credit and help the client with their student loan needs.

The daily job duties of a banker will also entail keeping complete and accurate records of the financial institution’s transactions which they carry out on a daily basis. Items such as loan applications, bank statements and other accompanying documents must be reviewed and properly filed by the banker to ensure that they can easily be recalled should need be.

Bankers must also disburse funds from time to time to the client and associated parties. This is done in the instance of bank accounts and loan disbursements. The type of disbursements will vary from customer to customer.

Some bankers may also sell financial instruments such as stocks and bonds from time to time. This will depend on the type of financial institution that a banker works at and whether it is within their job description and ability to do so.

Positive Traits Which Bankers Should Possess

There are a number of positive traits all good bankers should possess. The first positive trait bankers should have in order to do their job to the best of their ability is preciseness. Since bankers work with many figures and various financial accounts, it is crucial that all figures and tabulations formulated by the banker are precise in nature. This will ensure that all of the calculations reached by the banker are as accurate as can be.

Bankers should also be good with people. Having a personable nature will make the banker that much more effective when they deal with clients and employees of various businesses as they will be able to relate better to a banker who has this positive quality about them. The banker will have to correspond with individuals on a daily basis and by and being good with people the banker will be best able to do his/her job.

The banker should also possess a good mathematical mind. Being good with mathematics will help as the individual deals with finance and numbers each day and needs to be able to adequately understand them. A banker who has a good mathematical mind will find that the job is that much easier to complete.

Professionalism is an additional positive attribute which bankers should possess. Since they will not only be dealing with customers but individuals from other financial entities and organizations as well, it is important that the banker exhibits a great deal of professionalism. This will make all dealings between the banker and others go as smoothly as possible.

Banker’s services for customer relationship

Bank liable to prosecution is information not revealed

Money Laundering Provisions S328 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

It is an offence for someone to enter into or become concerned in an arrangement which knows or suspects facilitate the acquisition, retention use or control of criminal property. Disclosure must be made to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS).[7]

S 337 statutory protection given if –

a) Information in the course of profession business or employment

b) The person knew, suspected or had reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in money laundering

c) The disclosure is made as soon as practicable after the information comes to the discloser.

Where the law compels the bank to disclose information and it is an offence not to do so[8]

a) S330 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

b) It is an offence to fail to report a person’s engagement in any kind of illegal money-laundering wen the information is acquired in the course of business if the defendant has knowledge or suspicion or reasonable grounds for knowledge or suspicion.

c) No offence is committed if the information is disclosed as soon as is reasonably practicable after the information came to the person’s knowledge or there was a reasonable excuse for non-disclosure. It is also a defence for legal advisers if the information arose in privileged circumstances.

A banker’s right to combine account

Where a customer has two different accounts with the same bank ,the bank has a common law right to combine them without giving notice to the customer. This is so even if the accounts are with different branches of the bank.[9]

Example: if the credit balance on a customer’s account at branch A is $100 and his debit balance at branch B amounts to $90, branch A can refuse payment of  more than $10. The first the customer need know is that his cheque has been dishonoured.

On the other hand, a customer has no such right to instantly combine accounts. Therefore a customer who has a credit balance at branch A of a bank and nil balance at branch B has no right to demand payment at branch B.

If there are three more accounts, the bank is free to combine any accounts of its choice and to leave other intact-

Example: where an employer customer has three accounts, one in credit, one overdrawn wages account and overdrawn general account, the bank will chose to combine the credit account and the overdrawn general account, leaving the overdrawn wages account intact, as this enables the bank to claim as a preferential creditor.

Set Off following Insolvency where bank or the customer is insolvent-[10] 

Here are discussed how bank or the customer is insolvent:

a) A statutory set off may be applied to accounts on insolvency under S.323 Insolvency Act 1986 (individuals) or the Insolvency Rules 1986 (companies).

b) The statutory set off is automatic and unexcludable

c) Any right to extend set off is void.

d) Debts become due and payable as soon as the customer or bank are insolvent and are subject to statutory set off.

e) Debits on a customer’s account after the bank had notice will not be subject to set off and credits on a customer’s account after the customer has had notice of the banks’ insolvency will not be subject to set off.

f) Where the customer has 3 or more accounts the statutory set off will combine all of them but note preferential accounts (wages).

The limitations on the Banker’s Lien are[11]

1. The bank does not have a lien on cheques paid into the bank for collection. The bank may have a lien on a cheque it collects for a customer who has an overdrawn account one of which is overdrawn but the payment is to an account in credit the bank may appropriate the cheque and pay it in to the overdrawn account.

2. The lien does not apply to securities kept in safe custody.

3. The lien does not apply to securities, which are held by the customer as a trustee

4. The lien does not arise if there is an agreement to the contrary between the bank and the customer.

 Universal liability of banker[12]

If banker breaks this agreement:

(a) Banker will not be liable for losses or costs caused by abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances outside our reasonable control, which would have been unavoidable despite all efforts to the contrary, for example delays or failures caused by industrial action, problems with another system or network, mechanical breakdown or data-processing failures.

(b) As this agreement is made with you as a personal customer, we will not be liable for any business losses or costs you suffer (such as loss of business profits or opportunities).

You will not be liable for any payment instructions you did not give yourself, even if they were given using your card or Security Details, unless we can prove either:

(a) That you have acted fraudulently in which case you will be liable for all payments from the account that we have been unable to stop; or

(b) That you have been grossly negligent with your card or Security Details. Depending on the facts of the case and any legal requirements that apply, you may be liable for payments from your account but only until you have told us that your card or Security Details have been lost, stolen or could be misused.

If you are not liable for a payment, we will refund the amount of the payment and any charges or interest you paid as a result of it, and pay you any interest we would have paid you on that amount, and will not have any further liability to you.

Nothing in this agreement limits our liability for acting fraudulently or very carelessly or otherwise excludes or limits our liability to the extent we are unable to exclude or limit it by law.

 Recommendations

  • To make sure that advertising and promotional literature is clear and that clear information about products and services provided.
  • Claims by “non-borrowers” (third parties) in lending situations, such as a contractor that a borrower is using to construct a building.
  • Claims alleging negligent handling of deposit accounts, such as wrongfully allowing an additional    authorized signer to be added to an account or paying stale dated checks.
  • Claims alleging wire transfer errors or omissions, such as failing to wire transfer the funds, transferring the wrong amount or transferring the funds to the wrong account.
  • Claims alleging failure to follow escrow instructions when handled outside a trust department.
  • Claims alleging the bank failed to properly administer a lock box (not safe deposit) arrangement.

 Conclusion

Finally we can say, banking is a very complex business and becoming more so every day.  The

complexities of the business can and do lead to occasional errors or omissions by bank officers or employees.  Also they can result in misunderstandings by customers even when there has been no error or omission.  Additionally, third parties that are not even bank customers can and do sue banks over alleged errors and omissions.  Basic directors’ and officers’ liability policies, including BancInsure’s, provide protection for certain claims made against directors and officers.  Generally they do not provide coverage for the bank itself unless endorsements are attached which expand coverage.  BancInsure offers a comprehensive basic policy for directors’ and officers’ liability with endorsements that provide entity coverage for the bank itself for certain claims involving lender liability, employment practices, trust department errors and omissions, and mutual fund, annuity and insurance sales.  BancInsure also offers a Bankers’ Errors and Omissions Endorsement to the basic Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance

Policy.  This endorsement, subject to its terms, provides coverage to the bank itself for defense costs and legal liability for a wide variety of claims not covered by the other endorsements.

 Bibliography

Internet source:

ü      http://www.indg.in/financial-literacy/financial_quiz/relationship_between_banker_and_customer.pdf

ü      http://student.fnu.ac.fj:82/Commerce/BNK502/Additional%20Readings/Bank-Customer%20Diagram.pdf

ü      http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=964060

ü      http://knol.google.com/k/an-overview-of-bankers-obligations-and-liabilities-under-documentary-credits-in#

Books and articles:

ü      Craig, P. (2003): banking Law, London, Sweet and Maxwell.

ü      Davis, K. (1971): banking system, Urbana, University of Illinois Press.

ü      Fuller, L. (1969): The Morality of Law, New Haven, Yale University Press.

ü      Giddens (1998): The Third Way, Cambridge, Polity Press.

ü      Hossain, Dr. Kamal. (2008). “banking priority: What we need to do”. The Daily Star 17th Anniversary Special Edition. February 16.

ü      Levine, F., and J. M. Kennedy. 1999. “Promoting a Scholar’s Privilege: Accelerating the Pace.” Law of banking Analysis 24: 967-76.

ü      Sokoloff, C. 2006. Review of banking law.

ü      Tyree’s Banking Law in New Zealand, A L Tyree, LexisNexis 2003, page 70.

ü       Boland, Vincent (2009-06-12). “Modern dilemma for world’s oldest bank”Financial Times. Retrieved 23 February 2010

ü      Mishler, Lon; Cole, Robert E. (1995). Consumer and business credit management. Homewood: Irwin.

ü      Reserve, Federal. “Fed stops publishing M3”press release. Federal Reserve Board. Retrieved 9 March 2006.

ü      Quinn, Stephen; Roberds, William (2006), “An Economic Explanation of the Early Bank of Amsterdam, Debasement, Bills of Exchange, and the Emergence of the First Central Bank”Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Working Paper 2006–13

ü      Bordo, M. (2007), “A Brief History of Central Banks”, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

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[1] Act 102 of 1973.

[2] Hart, H.L, The Law of Banking, 1931, 4th Ed., Vol. 1, p. 1.

[3] 1901. I.L.R. 172.

[4] Paget, Paget’s Law of Banking, 1972, 8th Ed., p. 4.

[5] S.2, Banking Act 1973 (Act No. 102 of 1973)

[6] Holden, J. Milnes, The Law and Practice of Banking, 1970, 2nd Ed., p. 26.

[7] Bank officers and directors may also be subject to claims for statutory violations and/or administrative

actions under 12 U.S.C. § 1818, which imposes different standards than 12 U.S.C. § 1821(k).

[8] Countries in transition includes all countries in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Developing

countries refers to all countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania and South, North and Central America, except for

South Africa, Israel, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America (FAO 1997).

[9] Re sherry (1884) 25 CHD 692.

[10] Letter from Richard W. McLaren to Edward W. Brooke, June 26, 1970, in S. Rep. No. 91-1084, 91st

Cong., 2d Sess. 47-8 (1980).

[11] Martin Hughes, Selected Legal Issues for Finance Lawyers, (LexisNexis Butterworths, London,2003

[12] loyds TSB Bank plc Registered office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales no. 2065

Lloyds TSB Scotland plc Registered office: Henry Duncan House, 120 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4LH.    Registered in Scotland no. 95237