are account records private?

1. Account Records

Many banks refuse to disclose any information about you to a private individual unless there's a court order. Bot most banks will be very open in supplying information to credit, bureaus and other genuine grantors of credit, such as department stores. They certainly will if you list the bank as a credit reference. Generally, the bank will give such information over the telephone if it is familiar with the calling institution. It might, however, ask for a written request if it does not have a standing relationship with the inquirer.

• Whether your checking account is good or whether there have been overdrafts.
• Whether it has loaned you money, how much, for how long, and whether or not you have made payments on time.
• The size of your savings account. Bank officials will talk of "high four figures," or "low five figures," and so on.
• What kinds of loans you have with the bank--mortgage, personal, auto.

The Bank of America, the country's largest bank, has a typical policy. "We will respond to a recognized business or a credit-rating bureau," reports one of their vice presidents.

On an installment loan, the Bank of America will disclose the approximate size of the monthly payment and the remaining balance on the loan. On a practical level, it would be impossible for the bank to single out individual accounts on which it would not give out any information.

If a merchant calls a bank to determine whether a check you are presenting is good, or if a credit card is good for a certain amount, the bank will usually tell the merchant. Department stores' computer terminals often provide the same kind of information, disclosing whether the amount involved can be covered by the account. But the computers usually do not give the exact amount in the customer's account.

Can you prevent a bank from giving out this information? At this time it is impossible to prevent disclosure of this information unless you do business with a small bank that knows you well. Problem: Most banks have this information on computers and the technology, at least technology at a reasonable price, has not been developed to isolate individual accounts to block the dissemination of such information. Many people want their banks to supply information to credit grantors because this enables them, the individuals, to obtain additional credit more easily.

If you choose a small bank, however, especially one that is not automated, it is possible that the bank would agree not to give out information about you to anyone unless ordered to do so by a court.

• Form 1099s supplied by banks that still process them manually are likely to escape the IRS computers because of the sheer volume of forms involved. There is also an increased chance that the forms themselves may get lost. (For just these reasons, some people invest their money only at small "country" banks that do not have sophisticated computers.)