Estonian banks: Court ruling won't change statement access practices yet
Banks in Estonia say a recent court ruling on access to customers' bank statements will not change how they handle requests from state authorities — at least for now.
Last week, Tallinn Administrative Court backed LHV Bank's position that Estonia's current legal framework does not allow the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to request full bank account statements without clear legal grounds. The FIU has said it plans to appeal the decision.
Banks say they are closely watching how the legal situation develops but will continue operating under existing law until the ruling takes effect or legislation changes.
SEB management board member and financial consumer protection (FCP) chief Ainar Leppänen said the bank is monitoring developments, "including efforts in an ongoing legislative process to clarify the legal grounds for requests made through the enforcement register."
Swedbank CEO Olavi Lepp likewise stressed the importance of legal clarity when it comes to authorities seeking access to customer data, adding that the bank does not plan to change its current practices at this time.
"We will continue to operate in full compliance with current laws and act according to both our duty to protect client data and the legal rules that govern us," Lepp said.
Justice chancellor: This requires strict legislation
Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise said Tuesday that protecting banking confidentiality is more important today than ever.
She noted that beaching banking confidentiality outside criminal investigations would require specific legal provisions passed by the Riigikogu — and possibly a constitutional review by the Supreme Court.
Madise said the Constitution does not allow for anyone's banking confidentiality to be breached without a clear law specifying which authority may have access, for what purpose and how abuses are prevented.
"If authorities can access all of a person's or company's transactions without clear justification or external oversight, for example by uploading five years of income and spending to their databases, that provides a very detailed view of one's habits, relationships and movements, can expose trade secrets and much more," the justice chancellor warned.
"The rise of a surveillance state would weaken Estonia, not make it stronger," she added.
In response to criticism last fall, the Ministry of Finance has already made changes to the bill in question aimed at clarifying when authorities such as the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (MTA) and FIU may request banking data.
According to Madise, the proposal still needs significant revisions.
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Editor: Karin Koppel, Aili Vahtla
