Bank Secrecy Symposium

NUS Law’s Centre for Banking & Finance Law (CBFL) organised a Bank Secrecy Symposium from 4-5 December 2014, at the Bukit Timah campus. The symposium brought together representatives from academia, banks, law firms and financial regulators to discuss important issues associated with recent developments in bank secrecy laws.

A wide range of issues were explored at the symposium, including the justifications for the bank’s duty to keep customer information secret, the scope of that duty in different jurisdictions, and the growing tension between bank secrecy and international initiatives to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion. The symposium featured speaker presentations, contributions from designated commentators, keen participation from observers, as well as networking sessions. It is intended that the papers presented at the symposium will be subsequently published as a collection.

Speakers featured at the symposium included academics from China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and a regulator from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Commentators and observers included representatives from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Attorney General’s Chambers, international banks, and law firms.

The symposium was chaired by Assistant Professor Sandra Booysen and CBFL Director Associate Professor Dora Neo. Dean Simon Chesterman, Associate Professors Stephen Phua, David Tan and Tan Yock Lin, Assistant Professor Christian Hofmann, CBFL Advisory Panel member Jacqueline Low and CBFL Industry Fellow Sharon Craggs also participated in the symposium.