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Authorized Signer Wants Account Info
What rights does an authorized signer on an account have? May they ask the bank for the account balance?
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 Surprisingly, there really is no definite answer to your question. If asked by a bank, we would say "that depends on the particulars of the account and your depositor relationship."
Authorized signers come in a few varieties. For a corporation, all signers are authorized signers. None of them is the account owner; the corporation is the owner. Some of those signers have a valid reason to know an account balance; others don't. The bank needs to know the difference between a payroll clerk who may have signing authority, but no reason to know an account balance, and the business's treasurer, who may not sign on the payroll account, but needs to be able to manage its balance.
On a personal account level, an authorized signer may actually manage the account. For example, the account may belong to an aged incapacitated individual, and an attorney in fact or other authorized signer manages the account. In such a case, the authorized signer might be expected to have access to the account balance. On the other hand, an authorized signer might simply be on the account as a convenience to an active customer who manages his or her own account, someone to pay bills while the owner is on vacation, for example. In that case, access to the account's balance isn't usually appropriate.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 1/28/09
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