The Reserve Bank of India, RBI has asked banks to locate and refund unclaimed deposits estimated at over 1,700 crore rupees. RBI instructed banks to play a more pro-active role in finding the whereabouts of the account holders of unclaimed deposits or inoperative accounts in public interest.
The Central bank advised banks to display the list of unclaimed deposits which are inactive or inoperative for ten years or more on their web sites. In its notification RBI asked the banks to complete the exercise by June 30th and keep their web sites updated at regular intervals.
Expressing concern over the increase in the amount of the unclaimed deposits with banks year after year and the inherent risk associated with such deposits the RBI said the lists to be displayed on web sites should contain only the names of the account holder and his or her address. The central bank also asked other banks to have adequate operational safeguards to ensure that the claimants are genuine.
