Bank's legal liability arising from deposit agreement

The deposit agreement, which is about keeping the money belonging to the depositor by opening an account with the bank and returning the said money on demand or maturity date, is the most frequently encountered banking contract in practice. This contractual relationship gives rise to the bank's obligation to return the deposit as a primary obligation. In practice, it is observed that most violations occur during the return of deposits. In particular, unauthorised and unlawful actions of third parties against the deposits held by the bank require a detailed examination of the scope of the deposit return obligation. This is because, although the damage arising from unfair acts against the deposits is considered as "bank damage", whether the depositor has acted in accordance with the contract or general transaction conditions is important in determining the liability. In addition, the deposit agreement imposes many ancillary obligations on the bank, such as protection of customer secrets, informing the customer and complying with customer instructions. Due to its nature as a "trusted institution", the bank is under an aggravated duty of care while fulfilling these obligations. This situation requires a special evaluation of the general transaction conditions, non-liability clauses, and the level of care expected to be shown by the bank while fulfilling its primary and ancillary obligations in the deposit agreement. On the other hand, the obligations of the bank arising under the deposit agreement should be analysed especially in the context of developing technology and financial practices, and the limits of liability of the bank, which is a trusted institution, should be drawn. For instance, in internet banking or digital banking applications, the obligation to protect deposits or customer secrets is more aggravated compared to traditional banking. For this reason, it is important to present the obligations of the bank arising from the deposit agreement and to examine the violation of these obligations within the framework of the customer-bank relationship, which has an increasingly close and layered structure.