CBN to Annually Publish Names of Owners of Unclaimed Balances

In a move aimed at increasing transparency and accountability, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced it will annually publish the names of individuals with unclaimed balances in dormant accounts that are transferred to the Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account.

This was revealed in a statement titled “Frequently Asked Questions on the Guidelines for the Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances, and Other Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria.”

According to the statement, the CBN will list the owners of unclaimed balances on its website each year. Additionally, the bank will outline the procedure for reclaiming these funds and other financial assets. The CBN will also publish notices in three national newspapers inviting the public to review details of outstanding unclaimed balances.

Unclaimed balances are defined as account balances and other financial assets that have been dormant for a minimum of ten years in the records of financial institutions. These balances are then eligible for transfer to the CBN.

The guidelines clarify that dormant accounts are different from domiciliary accounts. Dormant accounts are those that have been inactive for over ten years, while domiciliary accounts hold foreign currencies.

The CBN further distinguished between inactive and dormant accounts, stating that an inactive account has no customer-initiated transactions for six to twelve months, whereas a dormant account has been inactive for one year or more.

Accounts eligible for dormant status include current accounts, savings accounts, term deposits in local currency, domiciliary accounts, deposits for shares and mutual investments, prepaid card accounts and wallets, and government-owned accounts, among others specified by the CBN guidelines.