A bank was negligent by providing incorrect data about a customer to the credit database managed by the Bank of Israel.
The Court rejected the claim and held that in the absence of financial harm caused by the bank's negligence, the client is not entitled to damages. The Credit Data Law requires banks to transfer credit data to the database managed by the Bank of Israel, including for circumstances that clearly indicate that the customer is in default of payments. A bank owes the customer a duty of care regarding the transfer of its credit data to the database. Providing inaccurate information to the Bank of Israel, which publishes it in the credit database which is public, constitutes negligence. In order to receive damages, a causal link must be shown between the bank's negligence and the financial damages caused to the customer. As long as the bank acts within its obligation under the Credit Data Law, even if it is negligent, damages cannot be sought under other laws such as: defamation and infringement of privacy (which do not require proof of damage). Here, the bank transferred to the Bank of Israel incorrect data according to which there is a debt of over ILS 10,000 for which "proceedings in Court" were opened, even though it was a procedure opened with the “Execution Authority” which does not require reporting. Although this was incorrect data, the customer's financial data, which were known to the relevant parties who were already in possession of such financial data, already had serious and severe indications regarding the customer, regardless of the incorrect data the bank provided. Therefore, in the absence of financial harm caused by the bank's negligence, the customer is not entitled to damages.