Bank of America (BofA), the largest bank in the US and the second largest in the world, has launched legal action against four of its former employees over a break of confidentiality.
The four former BofA employees in question used to work for the US Trust, which is one of BofA’s recent acquisitions. After leaving the company, they joined Dynasty Financial Partners, a new firm started by former Citigroup employee Todd Thompson. The company specialises in providing technology and investment services for financial advisors.
In the lawsuit, BofA alleges that in their resignation notices to US Trust, the employees stated that they would be taking “trade secrets” with them to Dynasty Financial Partners. This reportedly included names, addresses and contact details of clients, as well as emails kept in password-protected databases. The employees allegedly said that a protocol agreed to by some financial organisations is what permitted them to transfer the information.
The corporation accuses the former employees of “brazen misappropriation” of the confidential information entrusted to them, as part of a planned “attack” on the bank.
Whether these allegations prove to be true or false, Dynasty will nonetheless need to have professional indemnity insurance in place to cover the costs of fighting the lawsuit.