No, we are not aware of any law or regulation that would prohibit you from allowing a customer to transfer funds from a business account to a personal account using online banking — provided the customer is authorized by the business to make such transfers from the business account, and your bank is unaware of any wrongdoing by the customer in transferring business funds to a personal account (which could have several innocent explanations, such as to pay a salary or other expenses). We also recommend reviewing the account agreement for your business account to determine whether such transfers are allowed.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Beedie v. Associated Bank Ill., N.A., 2011 WL 2460959 (C.D. Ill. 2011) (“Illinois courts have consistently held that the deposit or transfer of money by a fiduciary into his personal accounts does not, without more, give rise to the inference that a bank had actual knowledge of wrongdoing or bad faith.”)

• County of Macon v. Edgcomb, 274 Ill.App.3d 432, 436 (4th Dist. 1995) (“Where the fiduciary writes a check on his principal’s funds to himself personally, it may be that the fiduciary was entitled to receive payment for salary, expenses, or the like. (Uniform Fiduciaries Act § 6, Comment, 7A U.L.A. 411 (1985).) In these cases, there is liability for those who deal with the fiduciary only if there is actual knowledge of the breach of fiduciary obligation or bad faith . . . .”)