1. The Legislature finds and declares that many customers of financial institutions have worked diligently to accumulate savings and other resources deposited in, or managed by, financial institutions. Some of these customers are vulnerable to fraudulent or other illegal schemes because of advanced years or because of physical or mental illness, disability or deficiency, or because they lack sufficient understanding of and do not have the capacity to make, communicate or carry out decisions concerning the management of their savings or resources. Financial institutions, in the course of conducting business with these vulnerable customers and senior customers, suspect, from time to time, that these customers are targets of illegal schemes but choose not to act because they are unclear about the conditions under which they may release account information, how much information may be released, and the entities to whom they may release such information. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is appropriate to provide statutory guidance to financial institutions in this situation.

L.1998,c.121,s.1.