The IBA does sell a Guide to Bank Record Retention, but it has not been updated since 2014, and some of the information in the manual now is out-of-date.

We are not aware of any record retention requirements specific to tax returns maintained in a loan file (whether they belong to a person or a business) or personal financial statements associated with a commercial loan made by a state bank.

As an example of a best practice, the IBA Record Retention Manual recommends retaining information collected in relation to a business loan for twenty-five months after the record date (i.e., the date the record is made). Additionally, we recommend retaining loan agreements and any documents that may be relevant to a dispute over the loan agreement for a period of ten years after the loan is paid off, due to Illinois’ ten-year statute of limitations for written contracts.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• IBA Guide to Bank Record Retention 2013-14 (“Business Loans (Records or Other Data Related To)” Recommendation: “RD [from date of making] + 25m”)

• Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/13-206 (“Except as provided in Section 2-725 of the ‘Uniform Commercial Code’, actions on bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange, written leases, written contracts, or other evidences of indebtedness in writing and actions brought under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act shall be commenced within 10 years next after the cause of action accrued; but if any payment or new promise to pay has been made, in writing, on any bond, note, bill, lease, contract, or other written evidence of indebtedness, within or after the period of 10 years, then an action may be commenced thereon at any time within 10 years after the time of such payment or promise to pay. . . .”)