The Banker Customer Relationship. Court Case- Tina Motors v. ANZ Banking Group PDF

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The Banker Customer Relationship. Court Case: Tina Motors v. ANZ Banking Group In this case, Mr and Mrs I own a used car business together named Tina Motors Pty Ltd. The cheque account of this business entity is with ANZ Bank and the manager was Hardy. In this banker-customer relationship, only Mrs I as the customer could sign and issue a cheque from this account. Mrs. I’s brother in law, Mr Stella worked in Tina Motors Pty Ltd together with Mr and Mrs I. Under one incident, Mr Stella forged Mrs I’s signature on cash cheques and he was paid on cheque by ANZ Bank. After seven months, his unethical act was subsequently found out. Tina Motors responses by issuing a court sue towards ANZ Banking Group for not obligating its duty as a banker to honor the cheque only when it is properly noted and signed. The judge of this case, Crockett J analyzed the background, facts and evidence of this case and voiced out his opinion. In usual similar cases like the current case would succeed because an authorized signatory from Mrs I did not sign the cheque issued. However, in this case, evidence showed that Mr Hardy as the representative banker from ANZ Bank had twice been doubtful on the authenticity of signature and he acted accordingly by seeking confirmation from Mr I on the issuance of the cheque. Upon his act, he has been reassured by Mr I that the cheque was authorized by Mrs I and can be paid. Mr I put on inquiry and chose not to examine the situation deeper after being asked by Mr Hardy. Mr Hardy’s efforts to seek for confirmation from Mr I twice on the particular cheque when he found doubts on it has proved his continuing responsible to act with reasonable care to ensure proper working of account of the plaintiff. Hence, the court judged that the defendant is to be claimed no guilty and that he had obliged to his duty to honor cheque of plaintiff, although the cheque was later found out to be forged on its signature.

(b)Duty to safeguard trust property The duty to safeguarding the trust or customer property is fundamental to the notion of trusteeship and to the operation of trusts. In a bankercustomer relationship, one of the roles of banker is to act as the trustee for customers. A bank is a place for customers to keep their properties especially cash in order to secure the safety of the properties, hence it is the responsibility of bank to ensure the security of these properties. Consequently, it is obviously comprehend that the trustees aka bankers are responsible for ensuring that they can minimize the harm that might goes to any property which they hold on trust. To that extent, of course, this duty will be dependent on the nature of the property, so as to prevent the property from becoming broken, run-down or reduce in its worth.

Also, there is another further dimension to this duty to safeguard trust property as banker as the trustee, which is the obligation to consider the best interests of the beneficiaries or customers and always consider the best alternative way of maximizing the utility or the value of the property the hold on trust, as applicable. For instance, if the property that a customer kept in the bank is investment capital, then it is the obligation of trustee to consider and select the most profitable investments to be invested, of course commensurate with the type of trust in question and in accordance with reasonable level of risk. In other words, the banker acting as the trustee has active duties to safeguard the trust property so that it remains suitable for the trust’s objectives and may not simply to watch over the property and preserve it from decay. For instance, if the trust property is comprised of cash which is to be invested for the benefits of the customers/beneficiaries, then the trustee or bankers will be required to consider the method or sources of investment in which the money of the trustee should be spent on. On the other hand, if the property were land and buildings which were rented out to tenants with the objective of customers to secure an income stream from those rents, then the trustees have the duty to manage these long term asset in a proper way in order to collect rents continuously or trustees may choose to take any other necessary steps to enforce the trust’s rights generally over these properties or to insure the land and building accordingly to any insurance contracts....