Find whereabouts of unclaimed deposit holders: RBI tells banks

RBI has directed banks to find the whereabouts of the holders of unclaimed deposits by displaying the list of such accounts on their websites and providing the details of the process to claim them.

In a circular issued today, the Reserve Bank directed the lenders to undertake the action by June 30.

"Keeping in view public interest, it has been decided that banks should...play a more pro-active role in finding the whereabouts of the account holders of unclaimed deposits/ inoperative accounts.

"Banks are, therefore, advised that they should display the list of unclaimed deposits/inoperative accounts which are inactive/inoperative for ten years or more on their respective websites," the apex bank said.

It added that such lists should contain only the names of the account holder(s) and his or her address. The account number, its type and the name of the branch are not to be disclosed on the concerned bank's website.

"In case such accounts are not in the name of individuals, the names of individuals authorised to operate the accounts should also be indicated....The list so published by the banks should also provide a 'Find' option to enable the public to search the list of accounts by name of the account holder," RBI said.

It also directed banks to give "information on the process of claiming the unclaimed deposit/activating the inoperative account and the necessary forms and documents for claiming the same".

The central bank has also asked the banks to have adequate operational safeguards to ensure that the claimants are genuine.