No, we do not believe that it would be prudent to charge a fee for searching for and reviewing financial records of non-customers, although this practice is not expressly prohibited in Illinois or federal law.

The Illinois Banking Act’s privacy provisions allow a bank to be reimbursed for any costs incurred in producing a customer’s financial records in response to a citation to discover assets. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has promulgated rules to provide more detail on the limitations of cost reimbursement. We spoke with an attorney at the IDFPR, and she confirmed that the agency “strictly interprets the rule to apply to actual customers of the bank.” Consequently, although we are not aware of any express prohibition on imposing a fee for searching for non-customer financial records, in light of the IDFPR’s stance, we do not recommend charging such a fee.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Illinois Banking Act, 205 ILCS 5/48.1(g) (“A bank shall be reimbursed for costs that are reasonably necessary and that have been directly incurred in searching for, reproducing, or transporting books, papers, records, or other data of a customer required or requested to be produced pursuant to a lawful subpoena, summons, warrant, citation to discover assets, or court order. The Commissioner shall determine the rates and conditions under which payment may be made.”)

• Illinois Administrative Rules, 38 Ill. Adm. Code 356.10 (“A bank or corporate fiduciary shall be reimbursed for costs which are reasonably necessary (including but not limited to personnel costs, reproduction costs and transportation costs) and which have been incurred in searching for, reproducing and transporting books, papers, records or other data of a customer which have been requested to be produced pursuant to a lawful subpoena, summons, warrant or court order. (Section 48.1(g) of the Illinois Banking Act [205 ILCS 5/48.1(g)] and Section 5-11 of the Corporate Fiduciary Act [205 ILCS 620/5-1].”)