Opinion ID: 1864826
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Heading: The Fiduciary Relationship Issue.

Text: The nature of a two-party relationship may be enough in itself to create a fiduciary duty. For example, a fiduciary duty arises between attorneys and clients, guardians and wards, and principals and agents. Kurth v. Van Horn, 380 N.W.2d 693, 696 (Iowa 1986). This, however, is not true as to a bank's relationship with its customers, whether they are borrowers or depositors. The banking-customer relationship does not automatically create a fiduciary duty. Id. Here, the bank agreed to make a loan on certain conditions, and the plaintiffs agreed to accept the loan with those conditions. The bank was acting on its own behalf and not on behalf of the plaintiffs in a confidential or trust relationship. There was no evidence that the bank was acting as an advisor to the plaintiffs or that it exercised any influence over the plaintiffs' business except to enforce its loan agreement. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we agree that it is not sufficient to create a fiduciary relationship, and the court correctly directed a verdict on this issue.