Jonathan Nwokpor
All banks and other financial institutions in the nation have been instructed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, to move any dormant accounts, unclaimed balances, and other financial assets to a special account.
This was revealed by the apex bank on Friday in a document that its acting director of the Financial Policy and Banking Regulation Department, John Onojah, signed, detailing guidelines for managing dormant accounts and unclaimed amounts.
The circular states that all bank unclaimed balances and inactive accounts that have been unclaimed for 10 years or longer would be kept in a special account called the Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account.
As a result, the CBN stated that investments in Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) and other government securities may be made with the money from dormant accounts and unclaimed balances.
Nevertheless, dormant accounts and unclaimed balances the subject of litigation or an inquiry were excluded from the revised Guideline, which is a review of the Guideline published in October 2015.
“CBN shall treat unclaimed balances (dormant accounts and financial assets) as follows:
“Open and maintain the ‘UBTF Pool Account’; Maintain records of the beneficiaries of the unclaimed balances warehoused in the UBTF Pool Account;
“Invest the funds in Nigerian treasury bills (NTBs) and other securities as may be approved by the ‘Unclaimed Balances Management Committee’;
“Refund the principal and interest (if any) on the invested funds to the beneficiaries not later than ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of the request and where it is imperative to extend the timeline, a notice of extension shall be communicated to the requesting FI stating reasons for the extension,” it said.
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