Can an escrow agent prohibit its designated escrow officer from accessing its trust account books and records?
No. Pursuant to WAC
208-680-174 and
208-680-410, the designated escrow agent is primarily responsible for the custody, safety, and accuracy of entries of all required escrow records, including the trust account books and records, and must have signatory authority on all trust accounts. Accordingly, an escrow agent must remove and replace a designated escrow officer if the escrow agent wants to prohibit the designated escrow officer from accessing its trust account books and records. See WAC
208-680-176.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
43.320.040 and
18.44.410. WSR 13-24-022, § 208-680-195, filed 11/22/13, effective 1/1/14. Statutory Authority: RCW
43.320.040 and chapter
18.44 RCW (as amended by 2010 c 34). WSR 10-20-124, § 208-680-195, filed 10/5/10, effective 11/5/10.]