Opinion ID: 1103241
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: relationship between banks and depositors

Text: ¶ 22. The majority characterizes the relationship between the parties in this case as one of creditor and debtor and not necessarily as one of trust. I have long disagreed with this portrayal of the dynamic between a bank and its customer and take this opportunity to do so once more. ¶ 23. To simply characterize the relationship as creditor-debtor as this majority and a few before it have done fails to take into account one half of the equation. Banks will most assuredly describe the average deposit as a type of loan. The way they may see it, the depositor is loaning them the money for an undetermined period of time in exchange for the payment of interest. This sure sounds like a loan. ¶ 24. However, to define the relationship in such mechanical terms clearly dismisses the attitude of many if not most all depositors. When the average citizen deposits his or her hard earned money into a savings or checking account, he or she is trusting the bank to safeguard their money. These depositors place their trust in banks to provide more security to their savings than is guaranteed by a piggy bank, sock drawer, or clever hiding spot underneath the mattress. While the banks may choose to have a different perception of this relationship, the average depositor is clearly placing the bank in a position of trust.