Pre-procedural

Amicable agreement

A meeting should always be sought first with the bank or independent asset manager. With a bank you only have an opportunity to reach an out-of-court settlement if you put your entire customer relationship on the line.
Before entering into negotiations with the bank, provide an overall view by making a list of all connections between the customer and the bank. The banks often give in and compensate for at least part of the losses if the overall view is positive in favour of the customer.

Overall view

  • All of the customer’s accounts and deposits
  • Accounts of family members
  • Any business accounts (in addition to the private account)
  • Current accounts, loans and mortgages
  • Length of business relationship
  • Customer potential (legacies, professional situation etc.)

It often makes sense to appoint a lawyer to handle negotiations. A lawyer can verify whether an amicable offer is adequate compared to the potential lawsuit.

Internal records – data protection

The bank often keeps records of internal meetings concerning whether and in what way the risks and opportunities were explained to the customer. Such records therefore carry great weight in terms of proof. If the bank wishes to cite the records it must also disclose them to the customer. In general, records of stock market orders, documents on sales meetings and signed documents of sale are not classified as internal records and must be published. In the event of failure to comply with the right to information, the customer can assert his rights before the judge (Article 15 of the Data Protection Act [DSG]).

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