Unfair Practices in Banking: Current Legal Issues

This article surveys contemporary judicial practice concerning the imposition of civil liability on banks for the bad-faith exercise of rights and performance of obligations in the course of banking operations and transactions. The principal factors contributing to the growth of unfair practices by banks include the digitalization of banking activities and the expansion of banks into intermediary services designed to generate additional revenue from non-banking services. The author analyzes the main instances of bad-faith conduct arising under various types of banking agreements.
The following examples are examined: the adherence of parent entities of Russian subsidiary banks to sanctions regimes and the freezing of funds held in the accounts of Russian companies; the circumvention of rules requiring that clients be informed of the terms of consumer credit agreements through the use of remote interaction with borrowers; the unilateral modification by banks of the terms of bank deposit agreements (including interest rates and maturity periods) when funds are debited from deposits pursuant to enforcement documents; and the imposition of prohibitive tariffs.
The paper concludes that it is necessary to strengthen the civil liability of banks in order to deter unfair practices, to refine the legal framework governing the remote conclusion of contracts, and to expand banks’ disclosure obligations.

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