We think the answer depends on the language in your account agreement, signature card or other document establishing the authority for the authorized signer to draw on the account. In our view, it would be inappropriate and perhaps unlawful to share account balances and statements with an authorized signer without the account owner having expressly granted this authority in one form or another.

Federal and Illinois privacy laws generally prohibit banks from disclosing their customers’ financial information unless the customer has requested or authorized the disclosure (with a number of exceptions that do not apply here). While it could be argued that a customer was implicitly authorizing another person to access account information merely by appointing that person as an authorized signer, it is possible that your customer would disagree with this inference. We believe the best practice for both a bank and its customers would be to simply have such authority stated in an account agreement, signature card or other document, if the customer intends for the authorized signer to also have this authority.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Regulation P,  12 CFR 1016.15(a)(1) (A bank may disclose nonpublic personal information “with the consent or at the direction of the consumer, provided that the consumer has not revoked the consent or direction . . .”)

• Illinois Banking Act, 205 ILCS 5/48.1(c) (“Except as otherwise provided by this Act, a bank may not disclose to any person, except to the customer or his duly authorized agent, any financial records or financial information obtained from financial records relating to that customer of that bank unless: (1) the customer has authorized disclosure to the person”)

• IDFPR Interpretive Letter 01-01 (March 9, 2001) (“Section 48.1 only uses the term ‘customer’ but does not define the term for purposes of the section. However, the plain language is clear. All customers (individuals, corporations and other entities) are protected whether they receive a financial product or service from a state bank or seek to obtain such product or service for personal or business purposes.”)