There is no concept of privacy in Indian banks. My father in law owns a business that has to deal with large sums being exchanged through checks. Now, unlike US

There is no concept of privacy in Indian banks. My father in law owns a business that has to deal with large sums being exchanged through checks. Now, unlike USA bounced checks in India are as good as lost money. So most people will simply refuse to accept checks. Since my father in law does large number of transactions with nearly every bank in town he simply calls up the manager and asks "Does Mr. X has Y money in his account ?", the bank manager then gladly tells him how much money the customer has in his account and based on statement if the check in en-cash or not.