The exposure draft of rules on the administration of dormant accounts, unclaimed balances, and other financial assets in banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria was recently made public by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It was suggested that banks move money from accounts that have been inactive for up to ten years into a trust fund account.
For small banks and large banks, the amount of money in inactive accounts could reach hundreds of millions or even billions of naira.
According to Uju Ogubunka, president of the Bank Consumers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), the money in inactive accounts is not idle.
The Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) pool account would be opened and maintained, according to the CBN. The CBN declared that it will invest the funds in Nigerian treasury bills and other securities as may be approved by the ‘Unclaimed Balances Management Committee’, and refund the unclaimed funds to the beneficiaries not later than 10 working days from the date of receipt of the request.
BusinessDay.