Unclaimed deposits with banks fell to Rs 35,012 crore from Rs 48,262 crore a year ago, according to data made available by the government.
Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Bhagwat Karad, in a written reply to Parliament, said that the total amount of unclaimed deposits transferred to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by public sector banks (PSBs) in respect of deposits which have not been operated for 10 years or more, was Rs 35,012 crore till February 2023 as against Rs 48,262 in March 2022 last year.
An unclaimed deposit is a deposit that does not see any activity like an infusion of funds or withdrawal from the depositor for 10 years or more and is deemed as an inactive deposit.
Banks have to report the number of unclaimed deposits and the amount of the same to the RBI. After this, the unclaimed deposits are transferred to the central bank's Depositors Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF).
India's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India, has the largest unclaimed deposit amount of Rs 8,086 crore, followed by Punjab National Bank (Rs 5,340 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 4,558 crore) and Bank of Baroda (Rs 3,904 crore).
"SBI has informed that it assists the family of the deceased in settling all cases of claims. Settlement of account (s) of deceased constituent are taken up on priority by SBI. SBI staff has been sensitised and instructions are reiterated in all forums of banks at a regular frequency," said Karad.
He further noted that for the convenience of SBI customers, the details and process of settlement of claims without legal representation in respect of account(s) of deceased constituents, the specimen of prescribed forms, as well as updated FAQs for easy understanding have been uploaded on SBI’s website.
RBI's rule on unclaimed deposits amount
As per the instructions issued by the RBI to banks vide their master circular on “Customer Service in Banks” in July 2014, banks are required to make an annual review of accounts in which there are no operations for more than a year and may approach the customers and inform them in writing that there has been no operation in their accounts and ascertain the reasons for the same.
Banks have also been advised to consider launching a special drive for finding the whereabouts of the customers or legal heirs in respect of accounts which have become inoperative, i.e., where there are no transactions in the account over a period of two years.
Further, banks are required to display the list of unclaimed deposits or inoperative accounts which are inactive or inoperative for 10 years or more on their respective websites, with the list containing the names and addresses of the account holders in respect of unclaimed deposits or inoperative accounts.
"Finally, banks have been advised by the RBI to play a more proactive role in finding the whereabouts of the account holders whose accounts have remained inoperative," stated Karad.
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