See CBN released steps to recover funds in dormant account fund

• The CBN is interested in the funds in dormant account and has issued new rules for recovering funds
• Customers of bank accounts that are now dormant for up to 10 years are now expected to follow then new prices
• A dormant account is a bank account that has remained inactive for a period of at least one year.

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued new guidelines to help owners of dormant accounts and beneficial owners to recover their funds that have been dormant for up to 10 years.

CBN takes over dormant accounts Photo credit: cbnnigeria
Source: Facebook

In the guideline titled the Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances, and Other Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria," mandate financial institutions (FIs) to transfer dormant balances to the Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account after 10 years.

CBN said its decision is aimed at to enhance transparency and efficiency in the management of dormant accounts and unclaimed balances to curb potential abuses.

Legit.ng reported that there are about 21 trillion in the bank accounts of different financial institutions.

Dormant account refunds

Here is a breakdown on how to recover to recover unclaimed balances from dormant account banks.

Recovery Process

First step: Account owners or beneficiaries must visit any branch of their respective FIs and complete an 'Asset Reclaim Form' to start the recovery process.

Second step: Claimants need to provide evidence of account ownership, a valid means of identification, proof of current residence, and an affidavit confirming the accuracy of the provided information.

Third step: Financial institutions are required to verify the claim within 10 working days. Verified claims are then forwarded to the CBN's director of the banking services department.

Next stage: The CBN will process the refund and transfer the unclaimed balance to the claimants' accounts within 10 working days of receiving the request from the FI.

CBN final instruction

In the guidelines, CBN emphasised that partial claims are not permitted, demanding the bank customer must processed their claims in full.

It added that the right to reclaim unclaimed balances is indefinite, and there is no need for account owners and beneficiaries to be worried.

CBN to make changes on interest rates on savings accounts

Legit.ng reported that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has said the bank would extend its monetary tightening position to control inflation.

The CBN boss said this in a recently published debut outlook, stating that the move is to mitigate some risks and address existing imbalances.

Some of the risks he cited included heightened inflation due to long-standing structural imbalances, which would extend monetary tightening and depressed growth forecasts.

Source: Legit.ng