On January 10, 2023, Justice Crane of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in ERA Capital L.P. v. Soleil Chartered Bank, 2023 NY Slip Op. 30121(U), holding that a bank did not have a fiduciary duty to its customer, explaining:
Region’s submissions establish that the parties held a standard bank-customer relationship that the FX and Checking Accounts’ agreements governed. Later, this also included Regions advising on ERA’s LCs transactions. However, Regions’ letter advising on the LC contained strong disclaimer language stating: “THIS LETTER IS SOLELY AN ADVICE OR THE ENCLOSED IRREVOCABLE STANDBY LETTER OF CREDIT AND CONVEYS NO ENGAGEMENT OR RESPONSIBILITY ON OUR PART.” Given this language, ERA could not reasonably have expected Regions to be acting under a fiduciary duty.
Moreover, the relationship the record reflects does not amount to anything more that an arm’s length bank-customer relationship.
(Internal citations omitted).