The National Bank of Ukraine stated that it will not provide access to banking secrets to any agencies without a court order. This position he made public in response to the recent statement of the Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko. The National Bank emphasized that any disclosure of information, which is a banking secret, is possible only if there are valid grounds and a court decision.
Representatives of the NBU noted that law enforcement and tax authorities can get access to such information only on the condition of proving the necessity and justification of this request. This, in the opinion of the National Bank, serves as an important safeguard for the protection of private information of bank customers.
The balance between the right to privacy and the public interest always requires careful weighing. On the one hand, it is about the right of bank customers to protect their privacy, and on the other hand, it is about the need to prevent and investigate crimes. At the same time, the NBU emphasized that even socially important goals cannot automatically justify the disclosure of bank secrecy.
The statement of the National Bank states that the protection of bank secrecy is one of the fundamental principles of the rule of law, especially in the context of European values. In the countries of the European Union, the protection of personal financial data is considered an integral part of the legal system, and any unjustified expansion of access to banking information is considered a threat to the basic rights of citizens.
Ukraine is gradually adapting its legislation to European standards in the field of confidential information in order to meet EU requirements. This includes improving the legal protection of personal data and strengthening guarantees of bank secrecy.
It will be recalled that the head of the NBU, Andriy Pishnyi, stated that the importance of bank secrecy is extremely important for maintaining trust in the banking system. He compared its importance to the principle of the presumption of innocence, which is the basis of the legal system. Preservation of the confidentiality of customer information, in his opinion, is a key element of the stable operation of the banking system, especially in the context of Ukraine’s integration into the EU.
