Govt to get Tk 10cr from unclaimed bank accounts

The government is going to get a large sum of money to the tune of Tk 10 crore lying unclaimed in deposit accounts with different banks and financial institutions.

According to the Bank Companies Act, the accounts having no transaction for 10 years fall in the category of unclaimed ones.

The law requires banks and financial institutions to deposit the money in non-operated deposit accounts held with them in a Bangladesh Bank fund, from where it goes to the public exchequer after one year.

According to the Bangladesh Bank data, around Tk 10 crore is now lying unclaimed with the central bank.

The data shows in 2010 the number of total unclaimed deposit accounts in the country's banking

system stood at 49,337.

If a client or his/her nominee(s) contacts the bank concerned during the one-year interim period, the central bank allows him/her to get the money kept in the special account. The banks and FIs allow only the accountholders and their nominees to claim and get the money.

The law also requires making public the names of the accountholders before depositing the unclaimed money in the government coffers.

A senior BB official said the amount of money that remained unclaimed in a deposit account usually was not a significant one and people generally were not interested or willing enough to make an effort and withdraw the sum. Many of the accountholders have even died in the meantime, he added.

'Most of the accounts have deposits of less than Tk 500,' the official said.

The banks generally send letters to the clients informing about the status of such non-operated accounts and seeking their decision about whether or not they want to keep the accounts alive.

Among other banks, currently the number of such accounts with Sonali Bank is 11,574, Agrani Bank 11,951, Janata Bank 5,995, AB Bank 657, Pubali Bank 6,993, Bangladesh Krishi Bank 352, Bank of Ceilon 144, Habib Bank six, IFIC Bank 4,041, Islami Bank Bangladesh 5,103, State Bank of India 19, Uttara Bank 356, Eastern Bank 54, ICB Islamic Bank seven, Southeast Bank four, Prime Bank three, BASIC Bank 331, Standard Chartered Bank 138, and National Bank 269.

Source : New Age