The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed banks and financial institutions to move all dormant accounts and unclaimed funds into a special account.
This new rule was announced on Friday through a circular from the CBN’s Acting Director of Financial Policy and Banking Regulation, John Onojah.
Under the new guidelines, any account inactive for at least 10 years and any unclaimed funds will be transferred to the “Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund Pool Account.”
The CBN also mentioned that these funds might be used to buy Nigerian Treasury Bills and other government securities.
However, accounts and balances currently under investigation or legal dispute are not included in this directive.
The guidelines say that:
“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 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.”
