The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled plans to create a dedicated office to manage dormant accounts and unclaimed balances. This was contained in a recently issued document, “FAQs – Guidelines on Dormant Account and Unclaimed Balances –issued by the apex bank.
It would be recalled that the CBN earlier disclosed that it may invest funds from Dormant Accounts, unclaimed balances in Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) and other government securities.
To this effect, the apex bank disclosed plans to create the office to oversee the management of the funds.
“The CBN shall establish a dedicated office for this purpose. The office will be supervised by a Management Committee.”
The apex bank also disclosed that it will release interests from invested funds after account reactivation.
According to the apex bank, it will manage these funds in trust, refunding the principal and any accrued interest to beneficiaries within ten working days of receiving a reclaim request from the financial institution.
The FAQ document read: “The interest payable shall be at a rate to be determined by the CBN from time to time. For Non-interest banks, the profit and loss on the unclaimed balances shall be determined by the CBN from time to time.
“The CBN will refund the principal and any interest on the invested funds to the beneficiaries within ten (10) working days of receiving a reclaim request from the FI.”
The CBN also noted that financial institutions are required to notify customers immediately and on a quarterly basis when their accounts become inactive or dormant. Reactivating a dormant account involves account owners completing a reactivation form at their respective financial institutions, providing evidence of ownership and valid identification.
For unclaimed balances, financial institutions must transfer these funds to the CBN once they have been dormant for ten years.
By: Babajide Okeowo
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