Dormant accounts hold millions

By Lavern Clarke, Staff Reporter

JAMAICAN banks are currently the repository for millions in unclaimed funds lying idle in thousands of current and savings accounts, monies that will end up in Government's coffers unless savers turn up to claim what is theirs.

Last week Saturday, the Financial Regulation Unit (FRU) in the Ministry of Finance and Planning published a list of unclaimed bank balances nestling in Bank of Nova Scotia accounts, amounting to just over $9.6 million.

It follows a list published recently for unused National Commercial Bank accounts that amounted to about $7 million, said head of the FRU, Bridgett Wilks. Another list detailing dormant CIBC held deposits has also been compiled and is ready for publication, Mrs. Wilks told the Financial Gleaner.

The idle accounts represent a mere fraction of the deposits currently held by the island's commercial banks which, according to central bank figures published in July, stood at a total $150.95 billion in June. Of the amount, demand and savings deposits amounted to 74 per cent, or $111.14 billion.

Under the Banking Act, the island's commercial banks are required to submit to the Ministry information on all dormant accounts on which there has been no activity for 15 years.

The FRU publishes the information, as stipulated under Section 40 of the Act, giving depositors a year in which to reactivate or clear the accounts before Government lays final claim to it.

In the published BNS accounts, deposits unclaimed ranged from a miniscule $2.62 owing to Manchester PCCC, to a substantial $251,331.40 belonging to E. Coltas from Kingston 8.

Other notable balances included $143,710.03 for Clarence Williams from New Brighton in the United States, and $146,081.03 for Carmen Birthright of the Bronx, New York.

In over two thousand accounts spread across over 11 newspaper pages, the BNS Mandeville branch had the largest idle accounts at over $1.8 million followed by Montego Bay with $1.4 million, and Spanish Town with $1.35 million.

Though dormant, the accounts continue to earn interest once they meet the minimum deposit requirement, says Marie Powell, Scotiabank's director of marketing and communication.

The Ministry of Finance is required to publish information on the dormant accounts at least four times within a one-year period, giving depositors notice of Government's intent to convert them to public revenues. The information is then gazetted. The idea behind making it public is to give account holders the opportunity to claim their savings, said Mrs. Wilks.

Ms. Powell said BNS did not compile data on the numbers of accounts cleared following publication of the accounts.

Where a depositor shows up after the moratorium period has elapsed, he/she can make a special application through the Accountant-General's office to reclaim the funds, said the FRU head.

The requirements for idle accounts have been in force since 1992, but Mrs. Wilks said that the lists have not been published for a while. The hold-up, she said, stemmed from the effort required to do the verifications and compilations.

The banks previously submitted the information on computer printouts which, she said, took a while to review. Now, they are required to submit the data in report format on spreadsheets.

"So the lists will be published more regularly," said the FRU head.

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