₹86,917 cr in unclaimed deposits with RBI fund, FinMin tells Parliament | Finance News
As much as Rs 86,917 crore of unclaimed bank deposits was lying with the Reserve Bank of India’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund as of June 30, with State Bank of India accounting for nearly a fourth of the total, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament on Tuesday.
SBI had the largest amount of unclaimed deposits transferred to the fund at Rs 20,040 crore, followed by Punjab National Bank at Rs 7,585 crore, Canara Bank at Rs 6,830 crore, Bank of Baroda at Rs 5,848 crore and Union Bank of India at Rs 5,549 crore, according to a written reply by Chaudhary to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Among private sector banks, ICICI Bank had Rs 2,278 crore in unclaimed deposits with the DEA Fund as of June 30, followed by HDFC Bank at Rs 1,912 crore and Axis Bank at Rs 1,734 crore.
Balances in savings and current accounts that remain inoperative for 10 years, or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from the date of maturity, are classified as unclaimed deposits. The banks subsequently transfer the unclaimed deposits to the fund under the DEA scheme maintained by the RBI. The fund is utilised for the promotion of depositors’ interest and for other purposes that may be necessary for the promotion of depositors’ interest.
Chaudhary said Rs 17,415 crore had also been reimbursed from the DEA Fund to banks as of June 30 for amounts paid by them to rightful claimants.
The government and the RBI have been taking steps to reduce the stock of unclaimed deposits and make it easier for depositors and their legal heirs to recover the money.
The RBI has directed banks to periodically conduct special drives to trace customers, nominees and legal heirs of inoperative accounts and unclaimed deposits. They are required to update lists of unclaimed deposits on their websites every month and conduct awareness and financial literacy campaigns.
The finance ministry’s Department of Financial Services earlier this year launched a common landing portal to facilitate the clearance of unclaimed bank deposits, insurance claims, shares, dividends and mutual funds across the financial ecosystem.
