32-8-501. Financial privacy -- purpose. The legislature finds and declares that:
     (1) the viability of one or more foreign capital depositories in Montana depends to a large extent upon both the secure nature of the depository and the confidential nature of customer accounts and safe deposits in the depository and upon the confidential nature of transactions between a customer and a depository. Therefore, the purpose of this part is to clarify and protect the confidential relationship between foreign capital depositories and their customers and to balance a customer's right of privacy with the governmental interest in obtaining information for specific purposes and by specified procedures as set forth in this part. The confidential relationship between a foreign capital depository and its customers is to be protected by restrictions on the disclosure of financial records to supervisory agencies and a prohibition against disclosure of financial records to other state and local agencies and to private individuals except under specified conditions.
     (2) a state offering secure and confidential depository services to its customers must be mindful that significant amounts of capital are derived from or moved for illegal purposes and that the United States and other jurisdictions have passed laws and worked diligently to prevent money laundering and other offenses from being conducted as part of otherwise lawful transactions;
     (3) in licensing and supervising the operation of one or more foreign capital depositories, Montana needs to enforce its own criminal laws vigorously. It is also imperative that Montana cooperate with United States law enforcement and other authorities to effectively deter and, when deterrence fails, detect, investigate, and prosecute perpetrators of financial crimes.
     (4) the purpose of this part is not to avoid the application of the Bank Secrecy Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, and the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act, which are intended to prevent or deter money laundering and other financial crimes while maintaining a degree of secrecy of customer bank accounts from federal agencies, but rather to apply state law in those areas unregulated by these and other relevant federal laws. However, it is the intent of the legislature that if there is a clear and direct conflict between this part and applicable federal statutes, treaties, or regulations that cannot be resolved by other means, then the state law should be preempted in order to maintain the efficacy and integrity of United States laws intended to combat financial crimes.

     History: En. Sec. 29, Ch. 382, L. 1997.