Bank secrecy in the bankruptcy of banks and savings banks

Facts

The decision concerns the bankruptcy of Kredit- und Verwaltungsbank Zug AG. The Konkursverwaltung made a decision on May 31, 1960, regarding the publication of the allocation plan and the inventory of the bankruptcy. This decision was contested by two creditors, who filed a complaint with the bankruptcy court. The court annulled the decision of the Konkursverwaltung, which then appealed to the Federal Court.

The parties involved are the Konkursverwaltung of Kredit- und Verwaltungsbank Zug AG, the two creditors who filed the complaint, and the bankruptcy court. The decision was rendered on October 21, 1960.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the question of whether bank secrecy (art. 47 al. 1 lett. b and al. 2 BankA) releases the bank's organs from the obligation to inform the bankruptcy administration (art. 222, 228 and 244 DEBA). The Court considered that bank secrecy does not apply to the bank's organs in bankruptcy, as the creditors' interest in transparency prevails over the banks' interest in confidentiality.

The Court also examined the scope of art. 10 of the ordinance concerning the concordat procedure for banks and savings banks and considered that this provision does not apply to the bankruptcy procedure. Furthermore, the Court considered that the regulatory power conferred on the Federal Court by art. 36 al. 3 BankA does not…