TRUST ACCOUNTS ACT 1973 - SECT 27 Duties of financial institution relating to trustee’s accounts

TRUST ACCOUNTS ACT 1973 - SECT 27

27 Duties of financial institution relating to trustee’s accounts

(1) Where the Minister has appointed an auditor under section 21 or 22 it shall be the duty of the manager or other principal officer of a financial institution with which a trustee has deposited any trust moneys whether in the trustee’s own account or in any general trust account or separate trust account to disclose each and every such account to the auditor upon demand in writing delivered to the trustee personally by the auditor and to permit the auditor to inspect and make and take away with the auditor a copy of or extract from each and every such account and of or from any book, account, document, or writing relating to any such account.

(2) It shall be the duty of the manager or other principal officer at the office or branch of the financial institution at which a trustee keeps a trust account designated or evidenced as such to inform the supervising entity immediately whenever the trust account is overdrawn or whenever a cheque drawn on the trust account is dishonoured by reason of insufficiency of funds in the trust account to meet the cheque.

(3) For the purposes of this Act the financial institution shall be deemed to be the agent of the trustee and such books, accounts, cheques or other records of the financial institution referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be the books, accounts, cheques or other records of the trustee.

(4) No financial institution shall incur any liability whether in respect of any breach of trust or otherwise by reason only of any disclosure made pursuant to this section or section 16 , 24 or 26 .