IBA Compliance Connection

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Our local police department called us to request a customer’s financial records. What do we need to receive from the police before disclosing those records?

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We recommend requesting that the police department produce a subpoena or court order for the disclosure of your customer’s financial records. In general (there are several exceptions which do not appear to apply here), federal law and the Illinois Banking Act authorize you to furnish a customer’s financial records to a third party, including a law enforcement agency, only when responding to a lawful subpoena, summons, warrant, citation to discover assets, or court order.

Under the Illinois Banking Act, if you are presented with one of these types of documents, you still must first mail a copy of the document to the customer before providing the requested financial records. If the police indicate to you that time is of the essence, you should consider suggesting they obtain a court order that expressly directs you to disclose the records before notifying the customer.   

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

  • Regulation P, 12 CFR 1016.15(a)(7)(ii) (Exception to privacy requirements when providing financial information “to comply with a properly authorized civil, criminal, or regulatory investigation, or subpoena or summons by Federal, state, or local authorities; . . .”)
  • Illinois Banking Act, 205 ILCS 5/48.1(c)(2) (“Exception to Illinois privacy requirements when “the financial records are disclosed in response to a lawful subpoena, summons, warrant, citation to discover assets, or court order which meets the requirements of subsection (d) of this Section.”)
  • Illinois Banking Act, 205 ILCS 5/48.1(d) (“A bank shall disclose financial records under paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of this Section under a lawful subpoena, summons, warrant, citation to discover assets, or court order only after the bank mails a copy of the subpoena, summons, warrant, citation to discover assets, or court order to the person establishing the relationship with the bank, if living, and, otherwise his personal representative, if known, at his last known address by first class mail, postage prepaid, unless the bank is specifically prohibited from notifying the person by order of court or by applicable State or federal law.”)