Under Illinois law, the right of setoff can arise either contractually (when a loan agreement or deposit account agreement provides for a right of setoff) or under common law when there is “mutuality” of parties (the funds are owned by the same party that owes the matured debt to the bank). In either scenario, your bank would have to be setting off a debt owed to your bank — a debt owed to an accounting firm would not qualify, even if the accounting firm is an affiliate or subsidiary of your bank’s holding company.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• First Nat’l Bank of Deerfield v. Lewis, 186 Ill.App.3d 16, 19 (1st Dist. 1989) (“The general rule in Illinois is that a bank may apply its depositor’s account for a debt he owes to the bank.”)

• Symanski v. First Nat. Bank of Danville, 242 Ill.App.3d 391, 396–397 (4th Dist. 1993) (“There are two bases on which defendant could assert a right of setoff . . . . Under common law, a bank has the power to apply the deposit to the payment of such depositor’s indebtedness only when there are mutual demands and debts between the parties, and this right of setoff arises at the time the depositor’s indebtedness to the bank has matured. . . . As evidenced by our previous discussion, parties can contractually agree to a right to set off.”)